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Estonia does not back the idea of Spain to modify the Schengen treaty to allow border controls to be restored to limit the movements of Islamic fighters returning to Europe from the Middle East.
Estonia not in favor of restoring border controls in Schengen
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Changing the Schengen treaty or limiting its scope, especially as far as free movement is concerned, has been on the table earlier too, spokesman for the Estonian Interior Ministry Toomas Viks said.
As an example, he cited the events of fall 2010 when France had a problem with the influx of immigrants from within the EU.
The spokesman emphasized that free movement is one of the fundamental principles of the Community.
«Estonia does not support the idea of restoring permanent border controls on internal borders. Among other things, because with that we would be making a step in the direction where the terrorists who acted in Paris and the various anti-EU extremist parties wish us to be moving. That is, toward restriction of freedoms and reversing European Union integration more broadly,» Viks said.
«The problem of threat of terrorism has to be dealt with of course, but also the present-day rules of the Schengen area enable to do it, allowing among other things to temporarily restore border controls,» Viks said. «In the opinion of the Interior Ministry changing the Schengen treaty is not primary because it is possible to guard borders also with the present version,» he said, adding that the implementation of the EU Smart Borders Package enabling to get better information still about the people crossing the EU external border should be sped up and updates agreed in the Schengen Handbook.