Rome discovered Europe

The influx of illegal immigrants threatens the Schengen order

Rome, desperately appealing to the solidarity of the European Union, began to issue six-month residence permits to illegal immigrants, with which they rushed through the transparent Schengen borders to France and beyond. The French are trying to stop them, and Belgium, ...

Rome, desperately appealing to the solidarity of the European Union, began to issue six-month residence permits to illegal immigrants, with which they rushed through the transparent Schengen borders to France and beyond. The French are trying to stop them, while Belgium, Germany and Austria are talking about imposing controls on their borders.

The problem of illegal immigration through the Mediterranean is aggravated every year with the onset of the warm season. Mostly people from Black Africa rush through the Sahara and the sea to the "European paradise". But this year, another reason has been added: instability in North Africa. Tunisia is separated from the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily by a little more than a hundred kilometers. Since the beginning of the year, 25,000 Tunisian illegals have landed on tiny Lampedusa. So far, there is no large flow from Libya, but it cannot be ruled out. Italy, on which the burden of dealing with refugees has fallen, not without reason believes that it should be shared by other countries of the union.

However, Prime Minister François Fillon said last Thursday after a meeting with the head of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso: "There is no rule that would provide for the admission to Europe and free movement through its territory of illegal economic immigrants." Most Tunisians from Lampedusa have no reason to settle in the EU and should be sent back to Tunisia, the prime minister said. Anticipating accusations of intolerance, he recalled that France ranks second in the world in receiving immigrants after the United States. Every year, over 50,000 foreigners seek asylum in France. And in Italy there are only 10,000.

The head of the EU executive board is more likely on the side of the French: "We have the right to protect our borders, we will not tolerate illegal immigration and we must fight against criminal networks (human trafficking)."

Barroso called the Schengen Agreement an unprecedented achievement that must be preserved and therefore strictly observed.

The decision of the authorities of the Alpes-Maritimes department to interrupt the movement of trains from the Italian border town of Ventimiglia on Sunday was the main topic of the daily briefing at the European Commission. Journalists did not let go of the press secretary Michele Cercone, who represents the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, from the stage for a long time. But they never got an official comment on this incident.

The events played out after Italy decided to provide six-month residence permits to 20,000 Tunisians, believing that they have the right to travel to their friends and relatives living in France and other European countries. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Italian-issued residence permits are "valid and recognized by France" (which is technically true).

Paris, in turn, considered that Rome was simply getting rid of refugees, letting them go on all four sides of the Schengen Europe. The French found support from a number of other EU countries. They appealed to the European Commission condemning the "scandalous" behavior of the Italian authorities.

The French closed the seaside road between Ventimiglia and the Côte d'Azur for six hours to "avoid accidents". The risk arose in connection with a banned demonstration in support of Tunisian immigrants who were trying to enter France.

Such measures limited in space and time do not contradict the Schengen Convention. This follows from the explanations of Michele Cercone: neither France nor Italy, by and large, violated the Schengen Code. The decision whether to issue temporary residence permits to immigrants or not is entirely within the competence of the country in which the immigrants reside. But these temporary papers in themselves do not give the right to travel to other Schengen countries. Their holders must present a valid passport of their country (which illegal immigrants, of course, do not have), indicate the reason and purpose of the trip, have sufficient funds for living (41 euros per day) and guarantee that they do not pose a threat to public order.

Yes, but to whom to present all this, if there are no border guards? The Schengen Agreement provides for selective and time-limited police control not only at internal borders, but also within the country. That's what the French did on Sunday on the Cote d'Azur. Brussels throws up its hands and invites Paris and Rome to resolve their own dispute. On April 26, a special Franco-Italian summit will take place in Rome. It, like the June EU summit, will be another attempt, if not to solve the problem of illegal migration, then at least to protect the Schengen area.