As Europe’s democratically elected leaders (and the people they represent) grow increasingly wary of the tsunami of refugees flooding their nations, prompting calls for restrictions on visa-free travel and an end to the so-called Schengen agreement, unelected EU leaders, clinging to their centralized power, are increasingly warning of the consequences of any restrictions. As EUObserver reports,  EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the euro is pointless if people can’t move around freely to use it.

Having already called for a European standing army, in order to show Russia “that [The EU is] serious about defending European values,” EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday, in his first speech to the European Parliament since the attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, that Europe’s single currency would come under threat if the Schengen visa-free travel zone fails. As EUObserver reports, 

Juncker warned that the euro is pointless if people can’t move around freely to use it.

“If the spirit of Schengen leaves us … we’ll lose more than the Schengen agreement. A single currency doesn’t make sense if Schengen fails,” Juncker told the parliamentarians.

“Schengen is one of the main pillars of the construction of Europe,” he added.

The Schengen system of open borders has come under pressure as EU member states struggle to stop the influx of refugees – a level of displaced not seen since the end of World War II. Schengen has 26 members, though a few are not EU states. It is one of the major achievements of the European Union, allowing for free flow of people and goods.

“We have to safeguard the spirit behind the Schengen agreement,” Junkcer said, admitting: “The Schengen system is partly comatose.”

“Those who believe in Europe, those who believe in its values and principles, freedoms, must breathe new life into the spirit behind Schengen,” he noted.

“A single currency doesn’t make sense if Schengen fails,” he repeated.

He again warned against equating terrorists with refugees, saying politicians should not exploit the tragic Paris attacks.

“Those who carried out these attacks in Paris, those who incited these attacks, are the same people who are forcing the unlucky of this planet to flee, please don’t get things mixed up,” Juncker said.