EU commission steers clear from controversial Schengen reforms

Reacting to an abnormal surge in asylum requests from Serbian and Macedonian nationals after they were granted visa-free access to the Schengen zone, the European Commission said there should be the possibility to reintroduce travel permits when the system is abused.

'We must make sure that our visa liberalisation agreements are not being abused. This is why today I am proposing to introduce a safeguard clause for exceptional and very strict circumstances,' EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement.

The reform - which received political backing from EU interior ministers in December when Schengen visas were dropped for Albania and Bosnia - needs to be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament.

The EU executive also called for negotiations to be launched with North African countries - mainly involving a limited opening of EU borders for skilled workers in return for guarantees on curbing irregular migration.

But Malmstrom did not follow up on ideas she aired earlier this month to ease the conditions under which EU countries can reapply border controls within Schengen.

Under current rules, it is possible to do so temporarily when public order is threatened. Following a spat over an influx of migrants from Tunisia, France and Italy have called for extraordinary cases of increased migration to also be accounted for.

While talk of reform is ongoing, the Danish government has defied the current Schengen rules by introducing police controls near its borders, as part of a domestic political deal with right-wing parties.

EU leaders are expected to discuss migration and asylum policies at a Brussels summit on June 24.

In a report also published Tuesday, the EU commission urged them to respect a pledge to agree on common asylum rules by the end of 2012. It also reiterated calls for approving draft proposals to strengthen FRONTEX, the EU border agency, and exploring the idea of an EU border guard corps.