Emmanuel Macron calls for EU to rethink free movement
French president says reform is needed to tackle international terrorism
The EU must strengthen its internal and external borders to counter the threat of extremism, Emmanuel Macron said yesterday during a visit to his country’s frontier with Spain.
The French president “is calling for a rethink on free movement in the EU after a spate of suspected Islamist terror attacks”, the BBC reports.
“I am in favour of a deep overhaul of Schengen,” Macron said, referring to the system of free movement between 26 European countries without passports, identity cards or border checks. The EU must “rethink its organisation” and “strengthen our common border security with a proper border force”, he added.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Europe is reeling from two attacks in the past week that involved assailants who moved freely between Schengen member states,” Reuters reports.
On Monday, a gunman killed four people in Vienna, after travelling to Slovakia in July to buy ammunition. And the man who killed three people in a church in Nice last Thursday had travelled from Tunisia to Italy via the island of Lampedusa before crossing into France a few days before the attack.
“Macron said the recent attacks were a warning to Europe that ‘the terrorist risk is everywhere’,” the Daily Mail reports.
The French leader - who has spoken of a clash between radical Islam and the West - said he would unilaterally double the size of his country’s border force from 2,400 to 4,800 officers. France reimposed border controls after the 2015 Bataclan attacks, under an exception from the Schengen Agreement.
Macron “also wants the EU to have a single asylum policy to end the rows that have paralysed its policymaking during a years-long migrant crisis”, Reuters adds.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Holden Frith is The Week’s digital director. He also makes regular appearances on “The Week Unwrapped”, speaking about subjects as diverse as vaccine development and bionic bomb-sniffing locusts. He joined The Week in 2013, spending five years editing the magazine’s website. Before that, he was deputy digital editor at The Sunday Times. He has also been TheTimes.co.uk’s technology editor and the launch editor of Wired magazine’s UK website. Holden has worked in journalism for nearly two decades, having started his professional career while completing an English literature degree at Cambridge University. He followed that with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago. A keen photographer, he also writes travel features whenever he gets the chance.
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories
The Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
By David Faris Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Israel's suspected mobile device offensive pushes region closer to chaos
In the Spotlight After the mass explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies assigned to Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon, is all-out regional war next, or will Israel and its neighbors step back from the brink?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published