EU bulletin 25th January 2016 Cross border commuters thanks to Schengen

EU ministers open talks Monday (25 January) in Amsterdam on ways to save the Schengen passport-free zone from collapse, and tackle the jihadist scourge, as a new counter-terrorism centre in The Hague is launched, EurActiv reports. The new Europol centre will improve information-sharing among national police forces whose performance is under scrutiny after the jihadist attacks in Paris in November: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/security/new-european-police-centre-launches-help-anti-terror-coordination-321263

Almost 1.7 million Schengen residents were cross-border commuters in 2014, according to a blog by Breugel showing the importance of the free-travel zone: http://bruegel.org/2015/12/cross-border-commuters-and-trips-the-relevance-of-schengen/

Romania's Prime Minister still wants to see his country join Schengen, despite it having an uncertain future, EurActiv France reports: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-priorities-2020/romania-still-wants-join-shaky-schengen-321239

The European Commission is considering a 'Juncker Plan' to support the Southern Mediterranean region, in order to cut the high number of refugees arriving in Europe, the First Vice-President Frans Timmermans told EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/justice-home-affairs/commission-mulls-juncker-plan-eus-southern-neighbours-321251

Europe's refugee crisis is put in historic and global context by Robert J. Shiller, a 2013 Nobel laureate in economics, and Professor of Economics at Yale University, in a piece in Project Syndicate. Read more at https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/economic-research-contribution-to-asylum-reform-by-robert-j--shiller-2016-01#CoZbS1TmfzKMkh1P.99

Croatia's new PM, Tihomir Oreskovic, raised in Canada with a background in
business, presents his country with a unique chance to transform its
government and economy, according to an opinion piece in EUobserver: https://euobserver.com/opinion/131967

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič took advantage of the World Economic Forum to meet with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and discuss the Southern Gas Corridor. He told EurActiv about it in an exclusive interview: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/sefcovic-there-good-potential-cooperation-gazprom-321260