Passport stamp

Luxembourg – Slovenia did not inform the European Commission of the re-introduction of border checks on EU borders due to the Covid pandemic in the summer of 2020 and the spring of 2021 and the Commission did not check compliance with Schengen rules, the European Court of Auditors has found.

Blic reports that the website of the German Embassy states that you can enter that country with an invitation letter and a negative coronavirus test not older than 48 hours, but in practice that is not the case.

Police inspections at airports are to become stricter from this week for European citizens traveling to countries that are not members of the border-free Schengen area.

Specifically, in accordance with European regulations first adopted in 2017, travelers will be required to show a passport and not just a police identity card to facilitate database security checks.

A common electronic system to speed up checks at the Schengen area's external borders and to register all non-EU travellers was backed by Parliament on Wednesday.

Sofia Airport is operating under winter conditions. On Saturday morning, most planes took off with one or two hour delays, reported BNR.

Temporary border controls set up inside the European Union's free-travel zone to cope with the migration crisis should be extended beyond a November 15 expiry, the European Commission proposed on Tuesday.

EU member states on Friday gave Greece three months to remedy "serious deficiencies" in controlling the migrant influx or effectively face suspension from Europe's Schengen zone of passport-free travel, AFP reported.

In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris, France wants the EU "to tighten rules on passport checks on EU citizens entering and leaving the Schengen zone."

Reuters is reporting this is meant "to make it harder for European jihadists to return from Syria unnoticed."

The Paris attacks on November 13 may result in changes to the Schengen Zone with media reports of Greece getting kicked out, along with Spain and Italy, under a radical plan to save the European Union passport-free travel.