EC proposed control extension (2)

(ANSAmed) - Brussels, May 4 - The European Commission has presented a recommendation, on the basis of a never-previously-used Schengen agreement article, to the European Council to allow Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to extend temporary border controls for up to six months and only for specific borders, ANSA sources said Wednesday. The move is linked to problems with Greek management of asylum seekers and control of its part of the EU external frontier and, therefore, does not relate to the Brenner Pass at the border between Italy and Austria, the sources said. Vienna has said it wants to introduce controls at the Brenner Pass to stop asylum seekers arriving from Italy. The Commission has also recommended that the European Council and European Parliament approve the scrapping of visa requirements for Turkish citizens who want to visit the Schengen area. The abolition of visa requirements was one of the most controversial recent EU-Ankara agreements to ease the asylum-seeker crisis. Ankara still has five requirements to satisfy by the end of June.