(ANSA) - Brussels - Italy will not suspend a European Union accord allowing people to travel freely between some nations, regardless of such steps by other member states, Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers, during which France and the Netherlands agreed to temporarily shelve the Schengen Agreement, Pisanu said it was not necessary in Italy.
"That decision rests with them and we will obviously support them where it affects us," he said. "I'm sure [they] have good reasons and I respect this.
"It is not needed in Italy although checks at the old borders must undoubtedly be stepped up."
Announcing the French and Dutch decision, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy recalled that the agreement allowed for the temporary suspension of free border movement in the event of "precise circumstances."
"It seems that the situation created by the attacks in London falls under these circumstances," he said. The Schengen Agreement, which ended border controls between signatory European nations, was originally signed by just five European states in 1985. It was expanded and officially adopted by the EU in 1997 although the UK and Ireland opted out.
While not part of the EU, Norway and Iceland have also signed the treaty, while Switzerland, together with the bloc's ten new member states, will see the accord take effect from the end of next year.
