A temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement will be implemented in Italy from June 18 to July 15, 2009 for the upcoming Group of Eight (G8) meeting.

According to a press statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the G8 meeting will be held in L’Aquila on July 8 to 10.

In a travel advisory submitted to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Rome stated that there will be police control in the borders that Italy shares with Schengen countries.

Italian Minister Roberto Maroni told an Italian television in May that the suspension of Schengen accord is “not to prevent demonstrations, but to block the arrival of those violent people who would like to come to Italy to hit policemen and crack people’s skills.”

The Schengen accord permits passport-free travel between nationals of 25 European countries. Maroni added that the Italian government had already warned European Union member countries of its plans to suspend the accord.

He further explained that the suspension is in keeping with general EU practice for the G8 and other important events.

In 2001, Italy suspended the agreement during a G8 meeting held in Genoa. Other Schengen countries had also suspended the Shengen agreement in the past. France suspended the agreement five times since 1995 as a measure against terrorism, while Belgium did during the European Football Championship as a control against hooliganism. Spain also suspended the treaty in May 2004 as a security measure for the wedding of Prince Felipe.