Germany considers voting against entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Europe's no-passport zone.

[pampango]

Germany mulls Schengen veto on Bulgaria and Romania

Germany says it will not allow Bulgaria or Romania to join the EU's passport-free Schengen zone if the issue is put to a vote in the EU on Thursday.

Most EU countries, and some others including Switzerland and Norway, are in the Schengen zone, where border controls for those countries' citizens are minimal or non-existent.

In a BBC interview in Berlin, (German Interior Minister Hans-Peter) Friedrich said "the right of free movement gives all people in Europe the opportunity to come to another country for work, for education, but it's not allowed to come only to Germany or Great Britain to get social security" (what Americans would call 'welfare'). The minister is in the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"That's the reason why we want to send people back, and this is what we have to regulate in our European law... There is no problem when people are coming to Germany for work, that's what we want in Europe, but we don't want people coming only to have social security," he told the BBC's Stephen Evans.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21653092

Even those who oppose the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen zone agree that the freedom to live, work and travel within the Zone should not be tampered with. Their issue is with eligibility for welfare benefits. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[dipsydoodle]

1. UK isn't in the Schengen zone.

See also : Benefit tourist clampdown 'to affect Britons' http://www.democraticunderground.com/10883380