Looming 'crisis' of migration from northern Africa may cause Schengen reformsApril 26, 2011 - 20:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday, April 26 called for a reform of the European open-border Schengen treaty, in the wake of what they called a looming 'crisis' of migration from northern Africa. After a meeting in Rome, the two leaders made their request in a letter to the EU's top officials. The pair also defused their own spat over Tunisian migrants arriving in Italy and attempting to head to France, where many have relatives, in the wake of the Tunisian uprising earlier this year. '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,' Berlusconi and Sarkozy wrote in their letter. Addressed to Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso - respectively presidents of the European Council and the European Commission - the letter also requests new agreements with North African nations where ongoing unrest has triggered a wave of migration towards Italy, M & C reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |