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26 April 2011 Last updated at 14:58 GMT                                                                                                                       From the BBC website              

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France and Italy push for reform of Schengen treaty Click to play     Nicolas Sarkozy: "Schengen should be reformed" Continue reading the main story

The leaders of France and Italy have said Europe's Schengen open-border treaty should be revised. The move by President Nicolas Sarkozy and PM Silvio Berlusconi comes after they met to discuss the recent rise in North African migration to Europe. Italy has angered France by granting visas to thousands of migrants, allowing them to travel across Europe's border-free Schengen zone. About 25,000 migrants have arrived in southern Italy so far during 2011. Many have fled unrest in North Africa, and among them are thousands of Tunisians hoping to join relatives in France. Both Mr Berlusconi and Mr Sarkozy are facing domestic pressure from right-wing parties to curb large-scale immigration. The Schengen treaty allows legal residents of most EU countries, plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland to travel across the zone with only minimal border checks. 'Exceptional difficulties' The two leaders have jointly written to senior EU officials asking that the treaty be investigated. Continue reading the main story

Gavin Hewitt's Europe

“Start Quote

From the start the Italian government set out to make this a European problem”

Gavin HewittBBC Europe editor

• Read Gavin Hewitt's thoughts in full

"The situation concerning migration in the Mediterranean could rapidly transform into a crisis that would undermine the trust that our compatriots have in the [principle] of freedom of travel within Schengen," the letter says, according to excerpts published by German news agency DPA. It is necessary to "examine the possibility to temporarily re-establish controls within [Schengen] borders in the case of exceptional difficulties," the letter continues. Speaking at a news conference in Rome after their meeting, Mr Berlusconi said neither Italy nor France wanted the treaty to end. "But in exceptional circumstances, we both believe that there should be variations to the Schengen treaty, and we've decided to work on that together," he said. In addition, he said there should be a "principle of solidarity" among European countries, and that southern states along the Mediterranean should not be left on their own to deal with the problems posed by mass immigration. France and Italy would also ask the Tunisian government to collaborate with them in dissuading migrants from coming to Europe, Mr Berlusconi said. Mr Sarkozy said the Schengen agreement had to be reformed if it was to survive. Click to play     The BBC's Matthew Price joins migrants travelling from Ventimiglia in Italy to France "We have the euro, we have reformed the European economy - we would like to see the same thing done to Schengen," he said. The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome says it is a sign of the depth of the tensions created by the migration crisis that they two countries are seeking a revision of the treaty. Neither country wants to accommodate the North Africa migrants and both want to ensure the situation is not repeated in the future, says our correspondent, so they are calling on Brussels to resolve the problem. But, he adds, the treaty took years to negotiate so revising it will not be a simple process. Patrols Migrants heading to Europe from North Africa often arrive at the Italian island of Lampedusa, which lies about 120km (75 miles) off the Tunisian coast. The upheavals across the Arab world have triggered a huge wave of migration, and Italy has complained it is being left to cope with the influx alone. Earlier this month Italy and France agreed to joint sea and air patrols to try to stop African migrants reaching Europe. Continue reading the main story

Schengen agreement

• In June 1985, leaders from Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands met in Schengen, Luxembourg, and agreed gradually to abolish checks at shared borders
• Full convention came into effect a decade later, also covering Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece
• Created single external border, harmonised some rules on asylum and visas, enhanced police and judicial co-operation and established shared information database
• Irish Republic and UK co-operate in certain aspects of Schengen but border checks retained
• Austria joined agreement in 1997, followed by Nordic countries in 2000. Nine new EU member states were incorporated in 2007 and Switzerland in 2008

• Q&A: Schengen Agreement

France promised to honour the temporary visas Italy has granted the migrants but has said it will turn away those who cannot support themselves financially. Last week, French police temporarily blocked an Italian train carrying Tunisian migrants from entering France. Aid agencies have said Europe needs to keep a sense of perspective on the migrants because only a small fraction of those leaving their homes were travelling to Europe. The International Organization for Migration said many more migrants remained in North African countries than in Europe, and it was African nations that were bearing the biggest burden of caring for them. Mr Sarkozy also used Tuesday's meeting to praise Italy's earlier announcement that it was sending aircraft to Libya to take part in Nato air strikes. He said that given Rome's close historical ties to Libya, "who could possibly believe that Italy would not take part in the work of the coalition to allow Libyans to live in freedom after 41 years of dictatorship?" The two leaders also called for an end to the violent repression of anti-government protests in Syria.

26 April 2011 Last updated at 01:37 GMT r France and Italy seek to defuse Schengen migration row Many Tunisian migrants arriving in Italy are heading to France where they have relatives Continue reading the main story

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to discuss tensions over migrants from North Africa.

Italy has angered France by granting visas to thousands of migrants, allowing them to travel across Europe's border-free Schengen zone. About 25,000 migrants have arrived in southern Italy so far this year. Rome has called for EU help with their care. Many of the migrants are Tunisian and want to join relatives in France. Earlier this month the two countries agreed to joint sea and air patrols to try to stop African migrants reaching Europe. The unrest in North Africa has triggered a huge movement of migrants to Europe. Many head first to the Italian island of Lampedusa, which lies about 120km (75 miles) off the Tunisian coast. France promised to honour the temporary visas Italy has granted the migrants but has said it will turn away those who cannot support themselves financially. Last week, French gendarmes sent back Tunisian migrants trying to cross the border from Italy. There are reports that officials from both countries have reached agreement on amending the Schengen treaty so that national border checks can be reintroduced. The 1995 Schengen treaty allows legal residents of most EU countries, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland to travel across the zone without visas. Mr Sarkozy and Mr Berlusconi are also due to discuss French takeovers of Italian firms and the two countries' response to the unrest in Libya.

22 April 2011 

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France seeks change to Schengen border       agreement Italy accused France of overstepping the treaty by blocking trains with migrants at the border Continue reading the main story

France has called for an easier mechanism to temporarily suspend an agreement which allows freedom of movement across 25 European countries. The move follows an influx of migrants from Tunisia and Libya into Italy. Italy's decision to grant Tunisians 20,000 temporary residence permits, allowing free travel in the passport-free Schengen zone, has angered France. Last week, French officials temporarily stopped trains with migrants crossing the border from Italy into France. The decision sparked anger between Italy and France, with Italy accusing its neighbour of overstepping the treaty on border-free travel. Exceptional circumstances In an off-the-record but widely-reported briefing, a senior French official said: "The governance of Schengen is failing. It seems there is a need to reflect on a mechanism that will allow a temporary suspension of the agreement, in case of a systemic failure of an external (EU) border." The official, at the presidential Elysee Palace, said that any such an intervention would be provisional, until any "weakness" in the system was corrected. The BBC's Hugh Schofield, in Paris, says that this is a highly controversial idea, deliberately floated by the French government just before the Easter break when any reaction from Brussels will inevitably be slow in coming. Suspension of the agreement is permitted under the Schengen Pact, but only in the case of a "grave threat to the public order or internal security". Under the current agreement, in these exceptional circumstances, border controls can only initially be reintroduced for a maximum of 30 days. Mr Sarkozy is due to address the problem of migrants entering France through Italy when he meets Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday in Rome. Earlier this month, Italy and France agreed to launch sea and air patrols to try to prevent the influx of thousands of people from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Many Tunisians have close ties with France - a former colonial power - with friends and relatives in French cities.

  I fully agree that the current benefit system in the UK is an ‘enabling’ system. I’m sure there are many unscrupulous employers who employ illegal immigrants and pay them well below the minimum wage.  I recall seeing several BBC programmes where reporters went undercover, investigating pay & working conditions from cleaners to carers to the sad tragedy of the Chinese cockle pickers in Morecombe Bay. Even the head of the CPS in Scotland had employed an illegal nanny from Thailand! I can only speak about The Netherlands and referring to the example I gave in my previous post, the Bulgarians are offered the exact same minimum wage that any Dutch citizen would get e.g.  aged 23 years and older - Euro 9.13 p.h. for a 36 hour week, 8.65 p.h. for a 38 hour week, 8.22 p.h. for a 40 hour week plus accommodation, leave and holiday bonus.  The controls are much stricter here and benefits are reduced or stopped if someone refuses to accept a job that they are quite capable of doing. But back to the original discussion, I think if someone is prepared to leave everything behind that they have ever known (family, culture etc) and in most cases risk their lives just to have the same opportunities that we take for granted i.e. a chance to improve their own and their families’ lives, we should help them, in whatever way we can.

  It’s always congested around Ventimilgia unless you time it right i.e. when the shops are closed but usually ok once you are through the tolls.  The coast road is a much nicer journey though but slightly longer.  Best to avoid Ventimiglia altogether on a Friday when it is market day but I guess you’ve found that out already! Wow great link ...thanks sprostoni but where do you click to find the webcam?    

  @ Flip these are the same arguments that politicians use over and over again to scaremonger us. I just don’t buy it.  I live and work in The Netharlands. Earlier this week the government decided not to issue work permits to Bulgarians who for years have come here to harvest the strawberries.  The government in its wisdom has decided that there are enough ‘unemployed receiving full benefit’ Dutch citizens to do the job…and yes, you’ve got it in one…not one ‘fully capable unemployed on full benefit’ Dutch person has applied!  Apparently the job is beneath them!  And we saw the same attitude when we lived in the UK. You would think they would be ‘forced’ to work or receive a reduced benefit payment. I think it is arrogant for us to assume that migrants are ‘uneducated’.  For all we know, there could be doctors, teachers, lawyers and budding entrepreneurs amongst them! The EU needs migrant workers because most of us would not do the jobs they are prepared to do… manual jobs, long hours, low pay and poor working conditions. You will hardly find a Dutch citizen working in a care home here.  And the same goes for the UK where we have elderly relatives living in care homes.  On our last visit, it was a case of ‘’spot the Brit’’!  I would like to see how the NHS would cope without migrants…. ‘’a lazy couldn’t be arsed on full benefit European’’ or ‘’a willing to work migrant’’? I know where I would rather see my taxes go… And yes talking of PIGS, what about those governments responsibilities? They didn’t and to quote you ‘look after their own citizens’’  ... I am just amazed at people’s reaction to this type of story. In financial terms it is probably a fraction of the cost when compared to what it is costing us to bail out so called developed EU countries as Portugal, Ireland, Greece and (possibly) Spain. Oops sorry for the essay…

Some photos of the sit in protest at Ventimiglia

  I don’t know why this issue is referred to as a ‘problem’. Whatever happened to compassion? These are people we are talking about, people who have nothing, and people who have left behind everything they know.  Why shouldn’t we in the richer EU countries share with the less fortunate?  Time for ALL EU countries to ‘walk the talk’…

18 April 2011 France had right to halt migrant trains from Italy - EU The Italian government insists the migrants have the proper paperwork to enter France Continue reading the main story

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France acted within its rights when it halted trains carrying North African migrants crossing its border from Italy, the European Commission says. Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said French officials had cited "public order reasons". An EU spokesman also said France was not obliged to grant entry to people with the temporary residency permits given to some migrants by Italy. Italy complained that the move violated EU rules on the free right to travel. For those legally living in the 25 countries in the Schengen Area - to which France and Italy belong - no travel documents are required. 'Strong protest' Earlier on Monday, the French interior ministry said the rail link between Menton, France and Ventimiglia, Italy, was operating normally. It said there had been an "isolated problem" caused by hundreds of activists on one train planning an "undeclared demonstration" in France, and posing a problem to public order that was temporary in nature. Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

It may be that this is not covered by the Schengen border code rules. But it would seem that they had the right to do this”

Cecilia MalmstroemEuropean Commissioner for Home Affairs "At no time was there a... closing of the border between France and Italy," spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet said. He estimated that up to 10 trains may have been affected by the disruption, five on each side of the France-Italy border. The statement came after the Italian ambassador in Paris was instructed by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to lodge a "strong protest" of the blocking of the trains. The ambassador called the move "illegitimate and in clear violation of general European principles". While Mr Frattini acknowledged that the activists might have given them a cause of concern, he insisted it was not a "sufficient reason to justify sealing one of the most heavily used and sensitive European borders". The migrants had the proper paperwork to enter France, he added. Italy has been giving temporary residence permits to many of the 26,000 Tunisians who have entered the country illegally to escape the unrest in the region in recent weeks, overwhelming refugee centres. Many have ties to France, and Italy says they should be able to travel there. Large numbers of North African migrants have been landing on Italian shores France has said it will grant entry to migrants holding the permits only if they can demonstrate that they can support themselves financially. At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Ms Malmstroem said she had received a letter from France explaining the "temporary" disruption was the result of "public order reasons". "It may be that this is not covered by the Schengen border code rules. But it would seem that they had the right to do this," she said. EU spokesman Michele Cercone also said the residence permits were not visas, and France was under no obligation to admit people having neither EU visas nor EU passports.

  Thanks sprostoni – a Swiss on line site quoted €30.47 if bought at the border.  It costs €34 here. I’m just being ‘tight’…as usual….

Silvio Berlusconi 'Ruby' sex trial opens then adjourns

Prosecutors allege that Mr Berlusconi had sex with prostitutes at his villa

Continue reading the main story

Berlusconi's troubles

• Profile: Silvio Berlusconi
• Q&A: Berlusconi trials
• Berlusconi's hardest fight
• In pictures: 'Berlusconi's women'

The trial of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on charges of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute has opened in Milan.

Neither Mr Berlusconi nor the alleged prostitute, Karima El Mahroug, were in court, and the hearing was adjourned after only a few minutes, until 31 May

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