Britain should send soldiers to protect Europe's borders, EU leaders say - Telegraph

Britain has offered to send border officials on an "ad hoc" basis to provide "technical expertise" and will oppose any demands for soldiers.

It comes as Theresa May, the Home Secretary, on Monday joins a critical meeting of European ministers in Amsterdam to discuss the migrant crisis.

"It's Europe that could die, not the Schengen area"

Manuel Valls, French Prime Minister

They will consider plans to bar passport-free travel from Greece amid growing anger at its failure to control its borders.

Austria said that the patience of European leaders has reached its "limit" and that they are now looking at plans to temporarily exclude Greece from the Schengen zone.

The move would leave tens of thousands of migrants trying to enter Europe stranded in Greece.

Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the Austrian minister for the interior, said: “If the Athens government does not finally do more to secure the [EU’s] external borders then one must openly discuss Greece’s temporary exclusion from the Schengen zone. It is a myth that the Greek-Turkish border cannot be controlled.

“When a Schengen signatory does not permanently fulfill its obligations and only hesitatingly accepts aid then we should not rule out that possibility.

“The patience of many Europeans has reached its limit. We have talked a lot, now we must act. It is about protecting stability, order and security in Europe."

European leaders are considering plans to suspend passport-freetravel in the EU for two years amid concerns that 2.6million more people are forecast to arrive.

Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, yesterday said that Britain is considering new plans which would see it accept 3,000 child migrants from Europe.

She said that the children would be "over and above" the 20,000 migrants that Britain has already agreed to accept.

• Syrian migrants in Calais win green light to come to Britain

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said Britain should permit thousands of asylum applications from migrants living in Calais providing they “want to come to Britain” and have “a connection" to this country.

It came as Civitas, a right-leaning think tank, warned that the single market has been a "disaster" as Britain's trade growth has been slower than any of the other founding nations.

It said that growth of exports between member states during the common market was 4.7 per cent but has fallen to 3 per cent in the single market, the research said. Britain's export growth fell from 5.38 per cent to 3.09 per cent over that period.

It found that UK export growth in the single market was 22.3 per cent lower than it would have been had if it had continued at its rate during the common market.

The campaign to keep Britain in the European Union today releases an analysis which claimed that the EU is worth an average of £670,000 in extra trade for every business.

Britain Stronger In Europe highlighted research by the Centre for European Reform which found found that Britain's goods trade with the EU is 55 per cent higher as a result of its membership.

The "EU effect" was worth around £133billion to the 200,000 export and import companies in the UK in 2014, it said.

• The chief executive of Unilever, Paul Polman, has added his voice to pro campaign, saying Britain should remain in the EU. But he added that Unilever’s UK sites, including three research and development centres, would not be affected by a vote to leave Europe. The consumer goods group - behind Persil and Magnum - employs 7,500 staff in the UK.