Spain considers tighter border controls in wake of Paris attacks

No passport queues are great, but at what price?

Spain’s Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz has told the El Pais newspaper that the government is considering tightening its border controls following last week’s attacks in Paris that left 17 civilians dead…

Díaz has even said that he would consider making changes to the Schengen Treaty – which permits citizens of 22 Schengen Area countries to travel freely without recourse to travel documents or passports – in order to protect Spain’s security.

The minister was speaking in response to an interview that asked him what Spain is doing in order to combat the threat of Islamic extremism and guard against returning ISIS militants from Syria.

“We are going to back border controls and it is possible that as a consequence it will be necessary to modify the Schengen treaty,” said Díaz. “The existing mobility in the European Union is facilitating the movements of jihadists to any country, and also to our country.”

Should the change be enacted there would be very little difference for British and Irish citizens because both the UK and Ireland have chosen to opt-out of the Schengen area. Hence, any Brit travelling to Spain still needs to present a valid passport.

However, with security on high-alert following the atrocities, governments around Europe are keen to discuss greater levels of control and travel restrictions. France’s Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing Front National (FN) party, has already called for the treaty to be scrapped.

“The immediate suspension of Schengen will enable France to control its borders,” said Le Pen, adding that to do so was an “essential element in the fight against terrorism”.

Díaz has suggested that Europe instead implements a continent-wide passenger name record database that would enable countries to share travellers’ information and track their movements more easily.

“We are convinced of the need for such a tool, to follow those who travel to terrorist-operating theatres or who return to Europe from there,” added Díaz.