Europe must strengthen its borders after attacks, says Macron

Europe must rethink its open-border Schengen area, including a more robust protection of the zone’s external frontiers, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, after a spate of Islamist attacks in France and Austria. 

The tighter controls were needed to curb clandestine immigration, said Macron, adding that the criminal gangs illegally trafficking migrants into Europe were often linked to terror networks.

“I am in favor of a deep overhaul of Schengen to re-think its organization and to strengthen our common border security with a proper border force,” Macron said on a visit to the Franco-Spanish border.

Macron said he would present proposals to European Union partners at a summit in December.

France will rally support before then and hopes Germany will put its name to the plan, a government official said, citing the Netherlands and Austria as other possible allies.

Europe is reeling from two attacks in the past week that involved assailants who moved freely between Schengen member states.

On Oct. 29, a Tunisian man killed three people in a church in Nice. Brahim Aouissaoui had arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, which lies off North Africa, five weeks earlier. After being transferred to the mainland, Aouissaoui travelled into France by train hours before launching his attack.

The jihadist who killed four people in Vienna on Monday travelled to neighboring Slovakia in July in an attempt to buy ammunition, Austrian officials said.

Macron said the recent attacks were a warning to Europe that “the terrorist risk is everywhere.”