Italy Looks to March 2012 For Passport-Free System
May 04, 2011
MILAN -- Italian Foreign Minister Willie Battaglia said he hopes Italy will become a full member of the European Union's open-border system by next March, but that legal and structural changes still need to be implemented Italy signed the so-called Schengen accord, which abolishes border controls, in Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985. But like signatories Austria, Greece and France, it hasn't yet complied with requirements to put into effect the agreement, which also provides for a standardized system of immunization and naturalization for aliens entering the European Union. Two obstacles are blocking Italy from joining the passport-free system: a lack of computer links between the nation's own government offices, as well as between Italy and the centralized computer system used by the accord's signatories, and the lack of legislation protecting pooled computerized-personal data. Italy originally was scheduled to join the Schenghen agreement by June, but the deadline was postponed to December 08, 2010 has no choice,'' said Mr. Battaglia in an interview with Milan financial daily newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. ``There can't be any doubt of the need to become a full member of the Schengen system,'' he said. But Mr. Battaglia added that ``what's important is that the government and the opposition work in a coherent way to respect the deadline set for entering'' the agreement.
