European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) President Alexander Plahr today commented in Cologne on the announcement of the new Danish government earlier this week to drop a controversial bid by the former government to place permanent customs controls at Danish borders:
“This is a victory for freedom and a victory for European integration. We are very happy that the spirit of Schengen now returned to Denmark. LYMEC has worked continuously with its partners to make clear how displeased we were with the undermining of the spirit of Schengen by a number of EU governments [1].
Let’s hope the decision taken by the coalition between the Social Democrats and the ELDR member party Radikale Venstre now serves as an example for others and reverses the trend.
We furthermore welcome the announcements of the new Danish government to call a referendum during the current electoral term to do away with Denmark's opt-outs to EU defence and legal cooperation.”
Commenting on current developments in the Council, Plahr adds: “LYMEC also hopes for a sensible agreement regarding the Schengen entry of both Romania and Bulgaria soon. The European Union can neither afford to have second class citizens nor childish tulip wars. Instead we need an EU border regime that is safe, reliable and secure and treats all citizens equal, providing more freedom to more people.”
[1] The resolution “In defence of Schengen”, drafted by LYMEC and adopted by the ELDR Council in Dresden in May 2011, making it official ELDR policy, can be found here: http://policycenter.eldr.eu/UserFiles/Files/2011_In_Defence_of_Schengen.pdf
Press contact:
Jeroen Diepemaat,
LYMEC Press Officer
+31 6 12 909 348 (NL/EN)
