Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also supported the idea of strengthening the common zone’s borders with the non-EU countries. “We can only preserve it (Schengen) if we urgently, urgently focus on the external borders,” he said, adding that his country supported the strengthening of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which helps the EU countries and the Schengen members to manage their external borders. In the meeting were also present the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, the European Council Chief Charles Michel and President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Macron had called on the reformation of Schengen even back in March when he urged for a “European renaissance” in a public letter directed to European citizens. In the letter, he insisted that due to the reintroduced border controls all across Europe, Europe had never been “as essential and so much danger as now” since the Second World War.

Source: The Local November 11, 2020 13:38 UTC