Collapse of Schengen spells 'beginning of the end' for EU, Avramopoulos warns

Gazzetta team
Collapse of Schengen spells 'beginning of the end' for EU, Avramopoulos warns
European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos on Thursday urged EU member-states to stop the "mutual blame game" and warned that a collapse of the Schengen Treaty could spell the "beginning of the end for Europe."

"We pulled down the walls and fences and now find that some are raising them again," the Commissioner noted, calling on all sides to assume their responsibilities.

"There is only 'we' and 'together' in this," Avramopoulos added and pointed out that, in the last few decades, Europe had made constant efforts to leave behind "all the things that divide us".

Regarding the refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe, the Commissioner said that they were "not our enemies" and that Europe could not become a fortress.

"They are people seeking protection, which we have a moral and legal obligation to offer them. We must respect European values and principles in practice, as these are laid down in the right to free movement and the Schengen Treaty," he said.