France and Germany are demanding the right to suspend the European Union’s passport-free travel zone for up to four years at times of crisis amid fears over terrorism and migration.
A confidential diplomatic paper seen by The Times reveals that the EU’s two biggest countries are pushing for the Schengen zone to be suspended in “exceptional circumstances”, making all travellers subject to border checks as they enter a country.
The European Commission is pushing for an end, within weeks, to emergency frontier controls introduced after terrorist attacks and during the EU’s migration crisis.
The demand will be a blow to Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the commission, who said on Wednesday that the passport-free travel zone, alongside the euro, was a foundation for a future federal
