Europe will preserve its greatest success: right to free movement

When driving in Europe, you may catch a glimpse of a small sign with 12 stars showing that you are entering another country. Today, in the European Union, borders are historical and mere lines on a map. You can speed along the motorway, glide through the countryside in a high-speed train or fly from Frankfurt to Malta or vice-versa with no hassle. For hundreds of thousands of travellers every day, this is a European dream come true. We will ensure that this dream stays alive.

Along with the euro, free movement between countries is the most tangible and cherished right of the past 60 years of European integration. Our history is stained with the blood of people who fought and died for morsels of land. After World War II, ugly barriers of barbed wire, concrete and armed soldiers divided us. Now we don’t even need a passport to travel around our continent.

Europeans take advantage of their free movement rights every day: we make around 1.25 billion journeys as tourists within the EU every year. Europeans are very aware of this benefit of EU citizenship. A survey last year showed that nine out of 10 Europeans know they have this right. Among them are almost 87 per cent of the Maltese.

A borderless Europe brings huge benefits to the economy. Between 2004 and 2007, the boost to labour mobility from new countries joining the EU increased the Union’s gross domestic product by almost a third of a percent or around €40 billion.

But these achievements cannot be taken for granted. The Schengen rules that give us passport-free travel in 25 European countries allow nations – in very exceptional situations – to re-introduce internal border controls for a limited time. This could happen during an international football tournament so authorities can prevent violence during matches. It may also be appropriate for security reasons ahead of an international meeting.

These exceptions should remain just that – exceptional. The recent tension between France and Italy shows that existing rules need to be well interpreted and – if needed – fine tuned. Governments should not define the circumstances for re-introducing border controls on their own. Such a decision would affect all of us. It would therefore need to be approved by the European institutions. This is a matter of respecting our EU rules, and ensuring that our hard-fought rights are protected. The European Commission recently proposed strengthening the integrity of the Schengen rules and protecting the EU’s greatest achievement: free movement.

Removing borders and building trust took many years after two devastating world wars. Now free movement makes Europe smaller and unites us. Enjoy and cherish this right. Jump on a plane, hop in the car and visit your neighbours. All this is possible without a second thought about borders.

As we celebrate Europe Day, it’s important to remember how far we’ve come.