Spanje en Portugal sluiten de open grenzen voor koninklijk huwelijk en EK voetbal (en)

Spain will temporarily suspend the Schengen treaty, which secures free movement of persons throughout the EU, during its upcoming royal wedding ceremony in May, reported El Mundo on 22 March.

The Spanish authorities will reinstall border controls from 15 until 23 May, the days before and after the wedding of Crown Prince Felipe and his fiancée Letizia Ortiz to prevent an attack by terrorists during the festivities.

El Mundo reports that the suspension of the Schengen Treaty was already being considered by Spanish security specialists before the bomb attacks which took place in Madrid on 11 March.

But the attack itself led the government to make its final decision.

Portugal also suspends "Schengen"

The Spanish move comes after the Portuguese government also announced last Wednesday (17 March) that it will put the Schengen treaty out of force during big upcoming public events.

The Portuguese will conduct strict border controls during the "Rock in Rio" festival in Lisbon (28-30 May and 4-6 June) and during the European Football Championships from 12 June to 4 July.

The Schengen Treaty was agreed between The Benelux countries, Germany and France in 1985. All EU member states except the United Kingdom and Ireland have been part of the treaty since 1999.

The aim of the Schengen Treaty was to establish a common travel area without internal borders and with common external borders.

But suspension of the treaty is allowed when governments confront exceptional circumstances. Both Belgium and the Netherlands used such a clause during the Euro 2000 football tournament in order to prevent crowd disturbances.