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Slovakian EU presidency considers Schengen program as priority: official

Xinhua, June 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Slovakia's presidency of the Council of the EU will include fully reinstituting the Schengen program, Slovakia's Permanent Representative to the EU Peter Javorcik said Thursday.

"It's a roadmap or a set of steps essential for restoring a fully functioning Schengen area, which is currently experiencing some tough moments," said Javorcik.

The European Commission at the beginning of March allowed reintroducing temporary border controls on selected internal borders after shortcomings in external border protection. The plan now is to move back towards Schengen ideals.

"The 'Back to Schengen' program will be of utmost priority for Slovakia's presidency because the opposite has a negative impact not only on the free movement of people but potentially also on the EU economy, particularly in border regions," said Javorcik.

The European Commission estimates that the immediate restoration of the Schengen area will cost between 5 and 18 billion euros (5.5 and 20 billion U.S. dollars) per year. Enditem