Law enforcement in Europe

The EU has invited officials of Denmark, Sweden and Germany to an emergency meeting on Wednesday after the two Scandinavian countries tightened border checks in a bid to cope with the worst migration crisis in Europe since WWII.

The passport-free Schengen zone is "in danger" because of Europe's refugee crisis, Germany warned on Jan. 4 after Nordic countries announced new controls at their borders to stem a migrant influx.

"Freedom of movement is an important principle - one of the biggest achievements [in the European Union] in recent years," Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters.

With the Schengen borderless area going through "a challenge", it is not the right moment for Bulgaria to insist on joining, Austria's Ambassador to the country, Roland Hauser, has said.

Turkey and eight EU countries as well as the EU Commission will come together to discuss the Syrian refugee issue at a meeting on Dec. 17 in Brussels, where Ankara hopes to learn the number of refugees these countries will receive in the coming year. 

The European Commission adopted on Tuesday new measures for managing the European Union's external borders more efficiently and preserving the security of the bloc's Schengen area of passport-free travel.

The European Commission is today adopting an important set of measures to manage the EU’s external borders and protect our Schengen area without internal borders. Today’s proposals will help to manage migration more effectively, improve the internal security of the European Union, and safeguard the principle of free movement of persons.

The draft on the results of the Council summit which will be held on Thursday and Friday will include strict recommendations to Greece, as Kathimerini newspaper reports.

The draft document mentions that the program is insufficient and should be accelerated and in order to preserve the Schengen area, it is necessary to re-establish control of external borders.

With the EU clearing the path for the opening of at least one of the five chapters currently closed in Turkey's long-stalled accession process, Ankara has turned its attention to a series of legislative reforms. 

Greece, like other countries, was not ready at the beginning to deal with the huge flow of refugees, Commissioner for Immigration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos pointed out at TA NEA newspaper. However, he has recently seen efforts to be accelerated.

The refugee issue continues to be one of the most important topics for Greek government following yesterday’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s acknowledgment that Greece risks of becoming a ‘storehouse’ of refugees.