Anders Anundsen has asked the European Commission to prolong border controls to Norway. – Stating the main reason as internal security.
The Minister of Justice believes the continuation of border controls is also important for the security of the Schengen area.
– It applies to both internal security, the number of unregistered persons within the Schengen area, and maintaining a satisfactory control of the Schengen external borders, he said to newspaper Aftenposten.
Norway is one of five countries in the Schengen area which introduced temporary border controls on November 26, 2015, in the wake of last year’s refugee crisis. The other four are Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Austria.
The European Commission late last month gave the green light for the controls to continue in all five countries.
However, it is not yet clear whether the EU will permit the controls to be extended further when the current arrangement expires on 12 November.
Last week the five Schengen countries met to agree to work together on a joint initiative for the European Commission to continue its border controls.
– We will strive for a common initiative in the course of this week, says Anundsen.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
