Austria suspends Schengen

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: Politico EU Edition

The Schengen agreement on open borders was “temporarily suspended” in Austria Saturday as Chancellor Werner Faymann added his voice to a chorus of leaders warning that the refugee crisis threatened to pull the EU apart.

The failure of the EU to reach agreement on a fair allocation of refugees and to secure its external borders threatens not just Schengen but the European project as a whole, he said in an interview for Austria’s Österreich newspaper.

“It is extremely troubling that the EU’s complicated structures have prevented it from resolving important issues like the avalanche of refugees or the financial crisis more quickly. Every time the risk is that it is doing too little, too late,” he said.

Vienna’s move comes as Germany has begun sending hundreds of refugees back over the Austrian border ever day. Austria has already begun implementing stricter checks on its southern border with Slovenia. Refugees have to present a valid identity card and those who do not have a right to asylum, plan to travel to Scandinavia, or have been already rejected by Germany, will be denied entry.

Read more: http://www.politico.eu/article/austria-suspends-schengen-border-checks-eu-migrants/

[sufrommich]

1. What an absolute mess. nt

[Bradical79]

2. I assume they're talking about economic migrants?

When referring to those who don't have "right of asylum"?

[Yo_Mama]

4. They're doing it by country, basically.

What is happening is that as each country north in the transit lines makes its rules about who they will let stay, the country south tries to change its rules about who can enter the country so as not to get stuck.

So Germany is pushing back individuals who say they are going to say, Sweden, if they know that Sweden won't let that person in. Just as the Danes changed their rules.

And now Austria doesn't want to end up with all the people, so it is trying to cut down the numbers entering.

I did read a protest that said you can't demand that refugees have identity papers, but who knows. In theory Austria wouldn't be the first country they came to, and I think they should have been issued identity papers already.

[RoccoR5955]

5. I seriously hope this is not going to happen

in the Benelux countries. It would be a nightmare. especially in the city of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog.
Take a look at a map of the borders there, and you will know what I mean. https://www.google.com/maps/place/5111+Baarle-Nassau,+Netherlands/

[iandhr]

3. I studied the EU for a semester in Strasbourg

It always seemed to me that the EU had many problem and that Schengen was a major security risk.

[roamer65]

6. The British have to be very happy they didn't sign onto Schengen.

It was doomed from the start.

[tabasco]

7. Open borders with the entire world is stupid and irresponsible

If the EU's borders are unsecure, the individual nations have the right to implement immigration control.

[Odin2005]

8. The EU is doomed.

Everyone is trying to dump the refugees on their neighbors, what a fucking mess.

[tabasco]

11. Can't happen soon enough.

The EU has fucked over working people in Germany by lowering wages / bringing in millions of workers eager to work for shit wages.

[Proserpina]

9. Here endeth the Eurozone experiment in coercive fascism

good riddance.

[Jesus Malverde]

10. Maybe it's by design

[pampango]

12. "The failure of the EU to reach agreement on a fair allocation of refugees ..."

The countries run by conservative governments have made sure that there is no 'agreement on a fair allocation of refugees. Liberally-run countries have taken their share and more.

The Schengen agreement on open borders was “temporarily suspended” in Austria ...

I believe that the Schengen agreement specifically provides for the ability of countries to 'temporarily' implementing border controls in circumstances like this. In that sense 'Schengen' has not been 'suspended'.

In the article Austria says it will accept people who have been determined to be refugees and not turn them back.

[branford]

14. In common and usual parlance, "Schengen" is synonymous with the free movement

of people and goods within the EU where there are effectively no internal border controls.

Since the migrant crisis began, many EU countries have implements various forms of border control and restrictions (internal and external). The legality of most of these acts is not in dispute, but the political, cultural and social precedents set nevertheless challenge the very nature of the EU itself, all at a time when it's popularity is seriously questioned by many people and governments in the region (e.g., Greek Euro crisis, British referendum, "democracy deficit," etc.).

Arguing about whether Austria really "suspended Schengen" really misses the forest for the trees.

[FLPanhandle]

13. Why did every thinking person in the world see this coming but Merkel & co. didn't?

This was George W Bush level of stupid.