Saturday, September 19th of 2015, the vice president of the Front national (FN), MEP member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group, Florian Philippot, traveled to Schengen (Luxembourg) to lay a wreath, he claimed, to the memory of free movement and to celebrate the return of national borders within the European Union.
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, condemned this provocative and cynical action. The Schengen agreements are part of the European acquis and free movement is a fundamental freedom enshrined in the treaties. The agreements are now part of our daily lives and it is unthinkable that the facilities enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of travelers and cross boarder workers in Europe are challenged by nationalist and reactionary thoughts and political actions.
The difficulties and challenges arising from the current migration crisis cannot be solved by closing the borders and a return to uninformed reflexes : no country in Europe is able to face the crisis alone and the solution must be a European one. The reintroduction of checks at common borders between countries can only be timely and temporary and should be in accordance with the Treaties.
Press Release from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg