France sees no reason to exclude Spain from the Schengen Area
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunes stated that there is currently no basis for suspending Spain’s participation in the Schengen Agreement. According to him, cooperation between the countries in combating illegal migration remains highly effective.
Núñez, who was asked about the consequences of the crisis in Ceuta during a press conference on the wildfires in France, noted that the agreement on asylum and immigration, which entered into force on June 2 of this year, must be implemented as soon as possible, but that appropriate legal instruments are needed for its implementation.
When asked whether Spain’s participation in the Schengen Area—which allows for the free movement of people in Europe—should be suspended, the French minister replied categorically: “Absolutely not.”
“We have an important partnership with Spain,” he noted, before citing a figure to illustrate his point.
In particular, he noted that when France detains undocumented migrants near the Spanish border, 70% of them return to Spain.
“Therefore,” he added, “we have very, very good cooperation with Spain, and there is no reason to demand (...) the suspension of Spain’s participation in the Schengen Area,” he assured.
This was reported by El Mundo.
Italy may close the Schengen Area to Spain due to the migration crisis.
Italy has decided to join the EU’s rearmament funding program.
As a reminder, a former intelligence officer was detained in Italy on suspicion of spying for Russia.
Following the arrest of the former Italian ambassador to Uzbekistan, Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini di Sant’Agnese, Italian visa centers in Russia have introduced stricter rules for submitting applications for Schengen visas.
