Germany’s decision to tighten controls at all of its land borders appears to be motivated primarily by politics, is difficult to justify in legal terms, strikes a major blow to Europe’s valued free movement, and may put EU unity to the test.
Berlin declared on Monday that as of next week, controls that have been in place at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland since 2015 will also extend to France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
The action will reduce migration and “protect against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
Just a few days before significant regional elections in eastern Germany, where the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved historic gains in two states, a deadly knife assault took place in Solingen last month. The suspects in the crime were asylum seekers.
According to polls, migration is also the top concern of voters in Brandenburg, which holds its elections in a fortnight – with Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic party expected to finish second to the far-right party – and the chancellor’s ailing coalition appears to be on track for a crushing defeat in federal elections next year.
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Marcus Engler of the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research stated, “The government’s goal seems to be to show Germans and prospective migrants that they are no longer wanted here, symbolically.”
Faeser said the new regulations will include a plan that would allow more people to be turned back at the border, but he did not elaborate. Amid their disbelief, diplomats and officials in Brussels have described the proposal as “transparent” and “obviously aimed at a domestic audience”.
Germany’s important position in the EU, as well as its reputation as the bloc’s largest economy, suggest that the controls, which will go into effect on September 16 for six months, could have far-reaching consequences beyond the country’s voters.
The Schengen region, which was created in 1985 and currently includes four additional countries, including Switzerland and Norway, along with 25 of the 27 EU members, allows for free travel between all of them without the need for border controls.
Temporary checks are permitted in emergencies and unusual circumstances to prevent specific dangers to internal security or public policy, and have often been enforced following terrorist attacks, large sporting events, and the pandemic.
However, European governments, frequently under pressure from far-right rhetoric on immigration, have increasingly reimposed checks without providing a rationale for apparent and specific concerns, or convincing justifications for how controls may assist in alleviating them.
Many analysts contend that regardless of national decisions about immigration laws and asylum processes, for example, European free movement provides for an easy target and that “taking back control of borders” makes for compelling headlines.
In addition to Germany, other Schengen countries that presently enforce border controls include Austria, which checks asylum requests from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary citing security dangers relating to Ukraine.
Denmark is inspecting German land and sea transportation, citing terror dangers associated with the Gaza War and Russian espionage risks; France, on the other hand, is checking entries into the Schengen zone due to heightened terror threats.
Border checks are also being conducted by Italy, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, and Finland. The reasons given for these operations vary and include terrorist activities, conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, Russian intelligence operations, an increase in migrant flows, and organized crime in the Balkans.
The European Commission, which is the guardian of the Schengen Treaty and was informed of Germany’s intentions on Monday, has unquestioningly accepted the arguments put forth by member states to reinstate temporary controls.
Even if there doesn’t seem to be much of a practical need for checks on all nine of the nation’s borders other than the anti-immigration extreme right’s electoral threat, observers anticipate that Berlin’s demand will receive the same treatment.
Member states may take such action to counter “a serious threat,” according to a Tuesday statement from the commission. However, the actions must be “necessary and proportionate” and “remain strictly exceptional.”
Alberto Alemanno, a HEC Paris professor of European law, argued that the German limits, which are only temporary, “represent a manifestly disproportionate breach of the principle of free movement within the Schengen area.”
He stated, “It won’t work under EU law, but will this stop Scholz from moving forward?” Even harsher criticism came from University of Vienna professor Christopher Wratil, who charged that Berlin was “governing as if the AfD were already in power.”
German lawmakers “should no longer tell me that somebody else is failing to comply with EU law after today,” Wratil declared. wanting to completely remove Schengen with a single penstroke and without giving it any thought.
Others emphasized the Schengen zone’s economic significance. In 2016, the Bertelsmann Foundation calculated that the return of internal border controls would cost Europe approximately €470 billion (£397 billion) in lost growth over ten years.
The European Stability Initiative think tank chair, Gerald Knaus, also questioned the effectiveness of the measure. Knaus stated on X that “internal border controls that are intended to have any effect mean the end of Schengen.”
They “will fail if neighbors are not interested in participating,” he added, and they would also need “federal border protection and fences around Germany.”
European unity may be put to the test if Germany requests that a substantial number of its neighbors return their citizens, given that the EU only just this year finally chose to rewrite its laws regarding immigration and asylum. The regulations are not expected to take effect until 2026.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, referred to Berlin’s decision as “unacceptable” on Tuesday and asked for immediate discussions. Meanwhile, Austria has already stated that it will not accept back any migrants who are turned away at the German border.
