Paris attacks...Will this be the end of Schengen?

[BlueMTexpat]

12. Ah yes, passport controls

Last edited Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:02 AM - Edit history (2)

worked so well to prevent 9-11, didn't they?

Passport controls were not even a factor in Oklahoma City, where the terrorists were homegrown, as it seems at least some of the terrorists in Paris were.

People must present passports to enter the Schengen zone and to provide evidence of residence and/or where they will be staying while here. After that, it's like traveling from one state to another within the US and that is what it was intended to be.

The UK decided not to be part of Schengen so yes, if you travel there, you are subject to border controls. That is fine for the occasional visit. Whether that was indeed wisdom or mere xenophobia is still up for grabs. You would likely hear UK citizens complaining as loudly as anyone else once they enter Continental Europe if passport controls started being implemented at every single border again.

I live no more than ten minutes from two major border crossings with France. Many of my neighbors here are frontaliers (people who live in one country but work in the other) and they have a daily transborder commute. In exceptional circumstances, as now, people will put up with the inconvenience. But there would be strong opposition to completely overruling Schengen - on BOTH sides of the border - except, of course from the National Front and their ilk.

It takes much more than passport controls. It takes knowing who your neighbors are and acting like a community. Otherwise, it's a return to the xenophobic nation-state mentality - which too many US neocons would absolutely LOVE to see happen here.