Germany suspends Schengen: reintroduction of border control against irregular immigration

Translated by Alessandra Fumagalli 

On September, 9th, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior informed the European Commission of the decision of temporarily reintroducing land border controls with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark for six months, starting from September, 26th 2024. As a consequence, since last Monday, it would be possible to undergo sample controls on the passports along the land borders, since the Government had already reestablished similar measures in 2023 with Austria, Switzerland, Poland and Czech Republic borders. 

Illegal immigration, repeated violence episodes and attacks against some communities, together with an ongoing extremely right-wing and left-wing party's affirmation, which exploit people’s discontent towards migrants, created a critical situation. This tension pushed Olaf Scholz to reintroduce border controls, in order to fight against illegal immigration, suspending the free circulation, which is guaranteed by the Schengen Agreement. The government and the Ministry of the Interior Nancy Faeser,, which are facing some difficulties, explained that this measure has the aim to “contrat illegal immigration” and “to stop criminals and identify Islamic extremists in advance”. 

Svenja Niederfranke, expert of migration of the German Council on foreign relations, explained to Euronews the reasons of this choice: “the German government wants to show to be active and, with the imminent and past elections, this is a political step extremely relevant, which indicates that we are regaining control of our borders”. Mortal knife attacks in Germany in the last months have indeed resulted in the success of extreme right-wing and left-wing parties, which are extremely against immigration, in the last elections of West Germany. With the third state, Brandebourg, which is about to vote on September 22, surveys indicate that security has become the main worry of electors. 

Does Schengen allow border restrictions in case of threat? 

Schengen allows its member countries to temporarily reintroduce internal borders controls in case of severe threats for the public security or internal order. These exceptional measures can be adopted for a first time of 30 days at maximum, but they can be extended till six months or, in exceptional cases, till two years. 

The reasons why a country can decide to reintroduce border controls are:

• Threats which can linked with terrorism 
• Rise in illegal immigration
• Risks for public security, for example, due to some events like violences or civil disorders 

In these cases, the Member State has to notify the European Commission and the other Member States, giving a reason and the measures that it wants to adopt. Even though the temporary border controls can limit the free circulation in the Schengen area, these are considered extraordinary and emergency measures, in order to guarantee the internal security of the country. 

When was the Schengen Agreement suspended in the past? 

Schengen suspension is a common practice among the States during important international summits. In Italy, for example, it occurred during the Genoa’s G8 in 2001, in Aquila’s summit in 2009 and in Bari and Taormina’s G7 in 2017. These measures are adopted also for sport events: Belgium suspended the free circulation during the European football championship in Belgium, in 2000, followed by Portugal in 2004, Austria in 2008, Poland in 2012 and France in 2016. Norway reintroduced border controls during Nobel ceremonies in 2009 and 2012. Malta suspended these controls during the Pope’s visit in 2010 and Estony for the US President in 2014. Spain suspended Schengen during Felipe’s wedding, who is nowadays the Spanish king. 

How can the European Union intervene? 

“The Commission is not always happy when a Member State introduces temporary border controls, because it is against the idea of the European Union and the Schengen zone”, Niederfranke states. 

After Germany’s decision, the European Commission warned Olad Scholz’s coalition, underlining that the controls have to be “proportionate” and used as “the last chance”. Anitta Hipper, spokeswoman of the European Commission, affirmed: “as far as the reintroduction of border controls are concerned, the Commission is extremely clear. This must be done following Schengen code. This can be a possibility. But these controls have to be obviously necessary and proportionate.  These measures have to be indeed extremely exceptional”. 

The European Union, at the beginning, has to evaluate the notice sent by the German government in order to verify if the measure is justified according to the Schengen agreement. If the Commission has some doubts, it will start a dialogue with Germany, in order to clarify the importance and duration of controls, trying to balance the internal security with the free of circulation. If necessary, the Commission should emit recommendations to modify or limit these controls. The EU will monitor the situation, in order to ensure that measures are temporary and not excessive. If the controls were prolonged unjustifiably, it could start infringement proceedings and appeal to the Court of Justice.

Germany’s decision to reintroduce the border controls marks a turning point in the security’s debate and the management of migration in Europe. On one hand Olaf Scholz’s government wants to answer the population’s warnings for illegal immigration and the intern security, on the other hand the debate of how the measures reconcile with the fundamental principles of free circulation guaranteed by Schenge agreement. The European Union has to monitor the application of these controls, in order to guarantee if they are proportionate and temporary, keeping a difficult balance between national security and European solidarity.  

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