German Minister of Interior, Horst Seehofer, called today for the suspension of the Schengen Agreement, as a means of decreasing the number of refugees and asylum seekers.
The Schengen Agreement allows free movement within the EU borders.
Newly-appointed Minister Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), explained that Germany must have a new plan and stance on refugees and asylum-seekers.
Seehofer stated:
Internal border checks [between EU member states] must be in place so long as the EU fails to effectively control the external border
The Minister also called for more border control in between countries. According to Seehofer, the EU is failing to protect its external borders, which is why Germany must rethink whether or not it, too, will increase internal border control.
The reintroduction of border controls is a prerogative of EU member states.
In September 2015, Germany reintroduced “temporary” internal border control, along its Austrian border, and for flights incoming from Greece, as a result of the large numbers of refugees that entered the country through these routes.
In February, EU demanded that Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway lift their border controls.
Despite these demands, Seehofer seems determined to carry on with his plan to draft, as soon as possible, a strategy to decrease the number of refugees and asylum seekers coming to Germany.
Seehofer’s strongly-worded declarations were not welcomed by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
