Brussels wants say in internal border patrols

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission wants to have a hand in any bid by EU states to restore borders within the passport-free Schengen travel area under draft legislation that could rile some governments.

A crown jewel of European integration, Schengen faced a storm of controversy during the Arab Spring due to fears that the upheaval across the Mediterranean would unleash a wave of illegal migrants across the continent.

France and Italy called for an overhaul of the passport-free travel zone after the two nations traded barbs when Paris sent border guards to the Italian border.

European Union home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem agreed in May to work on a proposal, to be presented on September 13.

The commission proposal may disappoint EU states that sought greater leeway to reintroduce internal border controls in case of an unexpected migrant surge, or if an EU nation failed to police the borders it shares with foreign nations.

"There will be a struggle," a European diplomat said.

Denmark is already facing criticism from Brussels after it deployed permanent customs controls at its German and Swedish borders.

"The situation where we are now is that an area of common interest is basically governed by individual decisions," Michele Cercone, Malstroem's spokesman, told a news briefing. "This of course has to be changed."

"If we want a better Schengen, we have to put more Europe into Schengen, that is the response of the commission," he said.

While EU states can unilateraly reimpose controls for big events such as summits or football matches, or during a terror attack, draft legislation obtained by AFP would give the EU's executive arm a central role in the decision-making.

Under the plan, an EU state would be able to resume border patrols without asking permission, but for only five days. Beyond that, the country would have to ask permission from Brussels.

EU states would have to ask permission from Brussels, with justification in hand, to impose border controls, according to the draft.

The request would then have to be adopted by a "qualified majority" of EU states -- a system in which a nation's vote depends on the size of its population.