Spain to Close Border for Summit of the European Central Bank (Fear of Protests)

Prensa Latina ^ | April 24, 2012 | Staff

[Fitzy_888]

Spain will restore border controls to France on Saturday, during a summit of European Central Bank (ECB) to be held on 3 May in Barcelona, said Monday the Ministry of Interior.

The measure, which will run until next May 4, will involve the temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement on free movement of citizens among the 27 European Union countries.

According to the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, the land boundaries with France will be reinforced at the border of La Jonquera, Port Bou, Puigcerdá, Camprodon, Les and Canfranc and air borders of Girona and Barcelona airports.

The Schengen Agreement text states that the free movement of persons in Europe without borders can be temporarily interrupted in the case of "a serious threat to public order or national security."

The Spanish authorities fear the arrival of protesters from other countries to Barcelona as part of the unrest prevailing in the so-called Old Continent due to the adjustment measures implemented by governments to overcome the crisis.

[Fitzy_888]

“I am responsible only to God and history.” -Francisco Franco

[Fiji Hill]

I recall crossing the border at La Junquera from France in December, 1965. Our Volkswagen camper had quite a few compartments inside, and the Spanish border guards went through every one of them before allowing us to proceed. It was the most thorough border inspection I experienced until I crossed into East Germany.

The border crossing was on a two-lane highway and didn't seem to get much traffic, but that's probably changed considerably today. All of the signage in the area was in Castilian Spanish, but today I understand that the signage is mostly in Catalan.