European Commission Urges End to Internal Schengen Border Controls

The European Commission is calling on nine Schengen member states to progressively dismantle temporary controls at their internal borders. These measures, initially introduced to address migration and security concerns, have been extended by countries including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden. The Commission acknowledges the genuine security and migration challenges faced by member states but warns that prolonged border checks disrupt the Schengen Area's core principle of free movement. Such controls can negatively impact cross-border commuters, local communities, and the flow of goods and services. The executive body of the EU is recommending that these nine nations begin a gradual removal of checks. Instead, they should employ alternative security strategies. These include non-systematic police surveillance, mobile biometric identification, and improved collaboration among national authorities. The push for borderless travel within Schengen comes as several European nations have recently reinstated or expanded internal border checks amid heightened migration pressures. Germany, for instance, has maintained controls on its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland since October 2023, extending these measures to all its land borders, including those with Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, in September 2024. Poland also announced the reintroduction of temporary controls at its borders with Germany and Lithuania starting July 7, citing the need to manage irregular migrant entries and external EU border pressures. Even Romania and Bulgaria, which recently achieved full Schengen membership, have experienced temporary controls. Sofia, for example, decided to maintain checks at its border with Romania for six months following a joint declaration with Austria, Hungary, and Romania. The European Commission is banking on new EU migration and external border control instruments, such as the Migration and Asylum Pact, the operational Entry-Exit System, and the upcoming ETIAS for non-EU travelers, to facilitate a return to seamless travel within the Schengen zone.