EU open borders scaled back after influx of migrants

Frontier controls proposed in passport-free Schengen zone for emergencies after demands from France and Italy

France and Italy appeared to have won the right to reintroduce border controls in emergency situations, after the European commission called for new rules to govern EU frontiers.

Countries in Europe's passport-free Schengen zone will be able to temporarily impose controls at their frontiers in the event of a sudden influx of migrants, according to proposals unveiled by the commission on Wednesday, after a surge in migrant numbers from north Africa across the Mediterranean.

"To safeguard the stability of the Schengen area, it may also be necessary to foresee the temporary reintroduction of limited internal border controls under very exceptional circumstances," the EU home affairs commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, told reporters.

The EU would also look to create a border patrol, intensify surveillance of Europe's frontiers and re-establish pacts with north African governments to control the flow of immigrants across the Mediterranean.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/04/eu-open-borders-scaled-back