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The Guardian view on EU border controls after Paris: more cooperation, not less The Guardian view on EU border controls after Paris: more cooperation, not less
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The terror attacks in Paris a week ago have stunned Europe. They have now also transformed the politics of European border controls. The security of European borders is in no sense an unfamiliar political issue. On the contrary, more than three quarters of a million refugees and migrants this year have generated familiar and fresh challenges for every state whose borders they have crossed and fuelled a populist reaction across many parts of the EU, not least France itself. It’s not clear that even a miniscule proportion of these refugees has any terrorist connection of any kind. But an outrage like the Paris attacks has the potential, especially in economically tough times, to ignite some tinder-dry popular concerns about Muslim newcomers. The terror attacks in Paris a week ago have stunned Europe. They have now also transformed the politics of European border controls. The security of European borders is in no sense an unfamiliar political issue. On the contrary, more than three quarters of a million refugees and migrants this year have generated familiar and fresh challenges for every state whose borders they have crossed and fuelled a populist reaction across many parts of the EU, not least France itself. It’s not clear that even a miniscule proportion of these refugees has any terrorist connection of any kind. But an outrage like the Paris attacks has the potential, especially in economically tough times, to ignite some tinder-dry popular concerns about Muslim newcomers.
That is why a solitary forged Syrian passport, found near the body of one of the Paris terrorists, has helped to catapult the question of border control effectiveness up the official, as well as the populist, agenda. Friday’s emergency meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels was called at France’s request to take urgent action. The meeting was arranged before the revelation that the attack ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, had travelled into and through the EU twice this year without setting alarm bells ringing. Yet such has been the raw urgency and shock of the past week that the ministers were willing to make big policy decisions about border control and intelligence-sharing policy on Friday less than 48 hours after Abaaoud’s own death in Wednesday’s Saint-Denis siege. Related: Paris attacks – visual guide to seven days that shook the French capital
That is why a solitary forged Syrian passport, found near the body of one of the Paris terrorists, has helped to catapult the question of border control effectiveness up the official, as well as the populist, agenda. Friday’s emergency meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels was called at France’s request to take urgent action. The meeting was arranged before the revelation that the attack ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, had travelled into and through the EU twice this year without setting alarm bells ringing. Yet such has been the raw urgency and shock of the past week that the ministers were willing to make big policy decisions about border control and intelligence-sharing policy on Friday less than 48 hours after Abaaoud’s own death in Wednesday’s Saint-Denis siege.
To listen to some of the debate in Britain about these issues, it is as though the whole problem can be blamed on the Schengen common travel area agreement of 1995 – and can be solved by Schengen’s abandonment. That is not true. Even if every EU state had border controls like Britain’s, the terrorists would sometimes get in or out. Nor would member states necessarily act together with sufficient urgency, on either intelligence sharing or arrest operations. That is not to pretend that the Schengen system is sustainable in its current form. It is buckling in several ways, and needs to adapt rapidly to the world of 2015. But the immediate priority is for more effective coordination and common focus against the real terrorist threat. That requires fewer national differences, not more.To listen to some of the debate in Britain about these issues, it is as though the whole problem can be blamed on the Schengen common travel area agreement of 1995 – and can be solved by Schengen’s abandonment. That is not true. Even if every EU state had border controls like Britain’s, the terrorists would sometimes get in or out. Nor would member states necessarily act together with sufficient urgency, on either intelligence sharing or arrest operations. That is not to pretend that the Schengen system is sustainable in its current form. It is buckling in several ways, and needs to adapt rapidly to the world of 2015. But the immediate priority is for more effective coordination and common focus against the real terrorist threat. That requires fewer national differences, not more.
Much of what came out of the interior ministers’ meeting will help that process. For Schengen to endure, it is essential that the external borders of the EU are securely policed. Without that, the resurgence of national border controls is almost inevitable. Nevertheless this is a very tough assignment, given the length of the external border and the relatively deprived economic condition of some of the nations in the front line. The EU’s Warsaw-based Frontex external border agency has also been criticised in the past for its failure to recognise international human rights obligations, but it is the only body that can support the frontline states consistently and it makes sense, therefore, that the ministers want it strengthened. Yet the key issue is intelligence-sharing between national agencies. France was let down by its neighbours in the run-up to the Paris attacks, in terms of intelligence, the tracking of suspects’ movements and the transportation of weaponry. It is a priority for the member states to raise their cooperative game.Much of what came out of the interior ministers’ meeting will help that process. For Schengen to endure, it is essential that the external borders of the EU are securely policed. Without that, the resurgence of national border controls is almost inevitable. Nevertheless this is a very tough assignment, given the length of the external border and the relatively deprived economic condition of some of the nations in the front line. The EU’s Warsaw-based Frontex external border agency has also been criticised in the past for its failure to recognise international human rights obligations, but it is the only body that can support the frontline states consistently and it makes sense, therefore, that the ministers want it strengthened. Yet the key issue is intelligence-sharing between national agencies. France was let down by its neighbours in the run-up to the Paris attacks, in terms of intelligence, the tracking of suspects’ movements and the transportation of weaponry. It is a priority for the member states to raise their cooperative game.
No elected government can afford to lose the confidence of its citizens on this issue. That is especially true of a country, like France, in which a powerful section of public opinion feels that the nation is under threat from migration as well as terrorism and which has an effective political party, in this case the Front National of Marine Le Pen, that is willing to champion such feelings. At the end of a traumatic week for France and for all Europeans, the ministers have done what they could to respond quickly and effectively. These are grim times for Europe on many fronts, but the tough-minded and principled response in Brussels on Friday was the right approach. No elected government can afford to lose the confidence of its citizens on this issue. That is especially true of a country, like France, in which a powerful section of public opinion feels that the nation is under threat from migration as well as terrorism and which has an effective political party, in this case the Front National of Marine Le Pen, that is willing to champion such feelings. At the end of a traumatic week for France and for all Europeans, the ministers have done what they could to respond quickly and effectively. These are grim times for Europe on many fronts, but the tough-minded and principled response in Brussels on Friday was the right approach.