Germany’s most popular party wants to ditch Schengen

The EU has failed to protect its member states from the influx of illegal migrants, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel has argued The massive influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta has shown that Germany would be better off outside the Schengen zone, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel has said.

The EU’s “borderless” travel system poses a threat to Germany as long as the bloc’s external borders remain largely unprotected, the leader of Germany’s most popular party told ZDF broadcaster on Sunday.

Some 72,000 people illegally entered Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, within hours in late July.

The influx led to severe overcrowding and inadequate sanitation, with local authorities reporting a subsequent outbreak of disease.

At least 15 rape cases were also reported in the migrant-swamped enclave.

Although most of the arrivals were quickly sent back, city authorities estimated that as many as 10,000 remained in Ceuta as of last week.

“When I see something like what’s happening in Ceuta, then [I say] we’re leaving Schengen,” Weidel said.

“We have to start [acting] preventively, we can’t just let everyone in unchecked.” Germany must “close” its borders because the EU is failing to uphold its commitments on external border security, she argued.

Read more Sweden slams Spain over migrant amnesty “Schengen only works with secure external borders and open internal borders.

Neither works,” Weidel said, claiming that neither the EU border agency Frontex, nor “readmission agreements,” nor the bloc’s border arrangements function properly.

“We will leave Schengen so that people like those from Ceuta can no longer come to us,” she added.

The AfD holds just over 23% of seats in the Bundestag, making it the largest opposition faction.

However, it remains largely unable to influence legislation because of the so-called “firewall” policy, under which Germany’s other major parties refuse to cooperate with it.

Weidel has argued that this could change after the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2029, which she believes the AfD could win.