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| Italy suspends Schengen agreement in anti－SARS move |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-09 10:05:19 |
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Italy is planning to temporarily withdraw from the Schengen Accord to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS）, the newly－appointed official in charge of coordinating the country's anti－SARS policies said on Thursday.
Guido Bertolaso, who is also head of the Civil Protection Department, said Italy would suspend its status as a member of the Schengen zone for "national security" reasons.
Under the Schengen agreement, border controls have been abolished in European countries to allow the free movement of citizens
Bertolaso said that starting this week, Italy would introduce checks on passengers arriving at its main airports from other countries in the Schengen area.
Italy was already carrying out checks on passengers flying in directly from SARS－affected countries, Bertolaso said. But this did not provide sufficient protection against potential carriers of the SARS virus on indirect flights who changed planes inside Europe.
"We don't even know that they are arriving from high－risk zones because under the terms of the Schengen agreement, there are no passenger controls," he said.
Bertolaso said the new rules would apply immediately to the main airports in Milan and Rome and be extended within the week to the airports of other major cities including Naples, Genoa and Bologna.
Italian Health Minister Gerolamo Sirchia said that checks at Italy's airports would not be eased until it was sure that other European Union countries had adopted "sufficient filters" against the disease.
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Editor: Yang Feiyang Source:Xinhua
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