EU Leaders: Borderless Travel Within Bloc 'at Serious Risk'

LONDON (AP) — EU lawmakers say convenient travel without ID checks inside Europe’s passport-free Schengen area could be a thing of the past if countries keep prolonging controls on European citizens.

Slovenian lawmaker Tanja Fajon — supervising border-check reform — said Thursday that the 26-nation Schengen area is “at serious risk due to ongoing illegal controls,” saying the EU must “establish clear rules.”

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and non-EU country Norway reintroduced border controls on all travelers after well over 1 million migrants entered Europe in 2015 seeking sanctuary or jobs.

France resumed ID checks at its borders over security concerns after the Paris attacks in November 2015.

The measures are meant to be temporary and last a maximum of two years under the Schengen rulebook, but lawmakers say the six countries have bent the rules for more than three years.