(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, OCT. 11 - The European Commission
confirmed that it has received an official notification from
Austria, ''which intends to continue to maintain the internal
border controls with Slovenia and Hungary, until May 2019, then
for another six months, according to Article 25 of the Schengen
Borders Code, Brussels will now evaluate the notification and
will continue to monitor the implementation of controls''.
That is what Natasha Bertaud, spokesperson for the EU
Migration Commission said today. EC president Jean Claude
Juncker said that the Commission is not in favour of this state
of affairs which he thinks is a step backwards for Europe.
Brussels will continue to work along with the Member States
involved, and in particular, encourage them to replace these
border controls with police checks in border areas. In order to
restore the proper functioning of the Schengen area, according
to Bertaud, it is necessary to carry out ''parallel work on
strengthening external borders, which can allow free internal
movement'', and the European Commission's proposal for a reform
of the Schengen Code, ''which is still on the table''. (ANSA).
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