Poland 'could face huge costs' if EU internal borders reintroduced
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
04.03.2016 17:32
Poland and other EU member states could see road transport and trade costs increase by EUR 500 million if EU internal borders were to be reintroduced, the European Commission said.
Members of the Macedonian special police forces secure the gate at the border railway crossing between Greece and Macedonia, near Gevgelija, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 04 March 2016. Photo: EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI
“Member States such as Poland, the Netherlands or Germany would face more than €500 million of additional costs for the road transport of traded goods,” the European Commission said in a recent report about the future of the Schengen zone.
“The Commission has estimated that a full re-establishment of border controls within the Schengen area would generate immediate direct costs of between EUR 5 and EUR 18 billion annually (or 0.05 percent - 0.13 percent of GDP),” the European Commission said.
In mid-February, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymański said that the Schengen free-travel zone has never been closer to disintegration than today, amid an ongoing refugee crisis. (rg)