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Germany's temporary border controls underline urgency of refugee issue: EU

Xinhua, September 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Commission here on Sunday said that Germany's latest decision of temporary border controls underlined the urgency to agree on the measures proposed by the Commission in order to manage the refugee crisis.

According to a Commission Statement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Sunday afternoon spoke over the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during which she informed him about the temporary reintroduction of controls at the borders with other European Union Member States, particularly at the German-Austrian border.

"The temporary reintroduction of border controls between Member States is an exceptional possibility explicitly foreseen in and regulated by the Schengen Borders Code, in case of a crisis situation," said the statement.

It said that "the current situation in Germany, prima facie, appears to be a situation covered by the rules."

The statement added that the EU institutions have the task to ensure the proportionality of the exceptional measures concerned. The Commission will closely monitor the situation and keep the European Parliament and the Council fully informed, as foreseen in the Schengen Borders Code.

"The objectives of our efforts must be to help ensure that we can go back to the normal Schengen system of open borders between Schengen Member States as soon as feasible," it said.

The statement noted that the free movement of people under Schengen is a unique symbol of European integration. However, the other side of the coin is a better joint management of our external borders and more solidarity in coping with the refugee crisis.

"We need swift progress on the Commission's proposals now," it said.

EU interior ministers on Monday will gather in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting to discuss refugee-related issues.

Media reports earlier on Sunday said Germany will reinstate controls at its southern border with Germany and Austria. Germany's Bavarian state government has asked for mobilization of federal police to accomplish the task. In another development, the German government also stopped the train to and from Austria. Endit