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                  Lagarde: 'Make or Break' Point for Schengen

   by VOA News

   The chief of the International Monetary Fund says she believes Europe's
   refugee crisis is placing the continent's cherished Schengen zone at
   risk.

   Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, said Saturday the
   swelling number of refugees in Europe has pushed the Schengen agreement
   to "a make or break" point.

   When asked at the World Economic Forum in Davos if the crisis put the
   Schengen area in peril, Lagarde said, "Yes, I think so."

   The Schengen area is comprised of 26 European countries that have
   mutually decided to eliminate passport and immigration controls at
   their joint borders, enabling the citizens of the Schengen zone
   countries to travel internationally without any limitations.

   Europe is facing its worst economic crisis since World War II. Almost a
   million refugees have reached Germany alone.

   ''

   Many of the migrants, looking for a better life, are escaping war and
   poverty in Middle Eastern and African countries.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/make-or-break-point-for-schengen/3159
   765.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/make-or-break-point-for-schengen/3159765.html