(by Laura Clarke). Amsterdam, January 25 - The Schengen Area is safe for the time being, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday at the close of an informal EU interior ministers' meeting on whether to restrict Europe's passport-free area in response to pressure from migrants and refugees. "At the end of this day's work, Schengen is safe for now," Alfano said. "We have a few weeks to prevent it from being dissolved by national egotistical stances. In my opinion we have until May for technical and political reasoning," he continued. "To all those who believe the solution for Italy tlies in ending Schengen I say: do they realise that we can't raise barbed wire in the Mediterranean or the Adriatic, and that the economic damage would be huge?" the minister asked. His comments came even as Dutch Security Minister Klaas Dijkhoff said that EU member states had invited the European Commission to "ready the procedure for activating article 26 of the Schengen code" allowing one or more member states to extend domestic border controls for up to two years. Germany and other northern European countries have already suspended Schengen in recent months in the attempt to control the flow of migrants and refugees pouring across their borders. Before entering the meeting Alfano reaffirmed Italy's position on the 1985 agreement to introduce a passport-free area within Europe. "We have a very clear position on Schengen - we must reinforce the controls on the EU's external borders," he said. "By doing this we will save the right to free circulation on the inside, which will not only be free but safe," Alfano continued. The minister said that Europe was at a "decisive crossroads" and warned against the danger of standing still or going backwards. "If we remain stationary we have no chance of guaranteeing consolidation of the project for European integration," he added. Alfano also rejected the idea of isolating Greece amid complaints from Germany that Athens was failing "to do its homework" on migration. "We are of the opinion that Europe must remain a stable set-up and there can't be pieces of Europe inside and pieces of Europe outside, because that would be the start of a break-up," Alfano told reporters.