Refugee crisis: Amsterdam talks put Schengen agreement on brink as EU states reimpose border controls
The future of Europe’s passport-free travel zone is reportedly hanging in the balance as EU ministers are on the verge of agreeing to suspend it for two years in response to the refugee crisis.
After the meeting in Amsterdam on Monday, the Dutch migration minister, Klaas Dijkhoff, said the member states would ask the European Commision for permission to extend border controls from May onwards if they cannot stem the flow of refugees from the Middle East and Africa.
Some ministers have said the move would force more refugees to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – as they are supposed to under the terms of the Dublin Regulation.