Border 
Control: How a Fear of Foreigners Is Gripping Europe When Its Economy Needs Them Most

Robert Ghement / EPA / Corbis

Don't fence me in Some E.U. members aren't convinced Romania deserves access to Europe's passport-free zone

Three scenes from Europe's winter of discontent: In a central market in Florence in December, a far-right extremist armed with a .357 Magnum kills two Senegalese migrants and injures three others before turning the gun on himself. In Brussels, the Dutch block fellow E.U. members Bulgaria and Romania from entry into the Schengen area — the 26-country zone where Europeans can travel freely without passports — citing fears of corruption and crime. In the French coastal city of Toulon, President Nicolas Sarkozy kicks off his campaign for this spring's elections with warnings that Europe is too exposed, "open to the winds"...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!