"Community rules cannot be subject to arbitrary behaviour by member states," said GUE/NGL MEP Cornelia Ernst during a debate on the re-introduction of border checks in the Schengen area and following Council's exclusion of parliament from certain decisions concerning the border-free area.

 "Today we need clarity. We need to insist on our rights under the Treaty, in other words co-decision, and that doesn't mean just being consulted."

"The arbitrary closure of borders, the installation of cameras in border areas or playing tough for election purposes is simply unacceptable and panders to the extreme right," MEP Ernst said. She denounced buses and the people on them, particularly if they are dark-skinned, being checked on the German-Czech border. "This is a breach of law. We don't want this," she said adding "we are vehemently critical of the way Council is proceeding".

MEP Ernst listed four things that needed to be discussed: "1) the need to agree on the way the Schengen agreement is being managed so that there is no arbitrary behaviour;  2) the need to strengthen free movement; 3) that the Commission should draw the necessary conclusions when breaches are committed and take action to counter them; 4) that the European Parliament be involved in all decisions pertaining to this issue, in other words co-decision."

GUE/NGL Press Contacts:

Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20   

David Lundy +32 485 50 58 12

gabrielle.kavanagh@europarl.europa.eu  

david.lundy@europarl.europa.eu

European United Left / Nordic Green Left

European Parliamentary Group

www.guengl.eu