Usti nad Labem, North Bohemia, Dec 7 (CTK) – The creation of a “mini-Schengen” would amount to surrender to the terrorists, Czech President Milos Zeman said yesterday, adding that the Schengen border must be protected with armed forces.
A few informal proposals to restrict the Schengen area, from which Central European countries could be theoretically eliminated, have appeared in the diplomatic backstage in connection with the migrant crisis of late.
“I consider the idea of the so-called mini-Schengen, including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and maybe one or two more countries shocking,” Zeman said on the first day of his three-day visit to the Usti Region.
He said there is no need to narrow the Schengen border. “This is surrender to the terrorists, this is precisely what they want,” Zeman said.
The proposals to create a mini-Schengen have been dismissed by the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia who met in Prague last week.
“Schengen has been created to give substance to the idea of free movement of persons and as the feeling of certain freedom within the European Union, it may have a psychological, not only matter-of-fact importance,” Zeman said.
