JURIST - Paper Chase: France reinstates border controls following London bombings

[JURIST] French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy [BBC profile] announced Wednesday that his country will retake full control of its borders within the EU. Sarkozy cited security concerns created after the London bombings last week for the decision to activate the "safety clause" of the 1985 Schengen Treaty [text; Wikipedia backgrounder]. Under the treaty, France and many other EU member nations - including Switzerland, after a referendum last month [JURIST report] - agreed to establish passport-free zones, allowing EU citizens to move freely from country to country, but the treaty contains a clause that allows members to restore border controls under certain conditions. The BBC is reporting that Italy, which has also been tightening its security in recent days [JURIST report], will follow suit and reinforce its old border zones with Austria and Slovenia. Bloomberg has more.

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