Germany expanded temporary border controls to all nine of its land borders this week, citing concerns over security and irregular migration. Such measures have already been in place along the country's borders to Poland, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
The increased police presence, which is set to last at least six months, is the German government's response to growing political pressure, particularly from the centre- and far right. Officially, the checks serve to further “protect against Islamist extremist terrorism and serious cross-border crime,” according to a statement released on Sunday by Germany's interior ministry.
A handful of seemingly one-off violent incidents have made headlines in Germany recently, including a knife attack in the western German town of Solingen that left three people dead in August and a shooting in Munich in September, in which only the alleged gunman was killed. Both involved suspects originally from other countries had alleged affiliations with terrorist organisations.
While each European country has the right to secure its national borders, those that are part of the Schengen Area are supposed to be committed to freedom of movement for people and goods. Observers have raised concerns that tightening border security harms a core value of the European Union.
“The reintroduction of internal border controls should be a measure of last resort,” Raphael Bossong, a migration policy researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, told The Parliament.
Why Schengen was created
The Schengen Area was born out of the 1985 Schengen Agreement, named for the town in Luxembourg where it was signed, which aimed to eliminate internal borders among participating European countries.
The original treaty covered five countries – France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – and has since expanded to 27. Although not all EU members are part of it – and some non-EU states like Norway are – Schengen is strongly connected to EU efforts to promote travel, integration and cooperation across European borders.
“The core identity of the European Union is laid out in the treaties, which is free movement and a common area without internal border controls," Sergio Carrera, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, a Brussels-based think tank, told The Parliament.
Freedom, with some exceptions
The Schengen Area operates based on a set of shared regulations known as the Schengen acquis – a body of laws, treaties, directives and court decisions that dictate how borders within the zone are managed. This includes the Schengen Borders Code, which defines when and how member states can reintroduce temporary internal border controls.
These controls are permitted only under exceptional circumstances, such as threats to national security. Each Schengen country has the right to temporarily reinstate border checks in emergencies, but such decisions must be justified and communicated to the European Commission.
“They need to be well anchored in the best evidence justifying their necessity, proportionality, legitimacy and assessing very carefully their impacts on free movement and fundamental rights,” Carrera said, adding that police checks in border areas cannot be systematic or target specific groups.
But "there is an enforcement gap,” Carrera said, which leads to governments failing to provide adequate justification for prolonged border controls.
The European Commission tends to apply a light touch to its members, preferring “diplomatic follow up, but not formally launching enforcement infringement proceedings,” Carrera added.
The European Parliament can also step in, filing a judicial complaint against the Commission if it fails to enforce EU law.
Temporary measures, indefinitely extended
As in the current German case, border control measures are intended to last no longer than six months. In practice, they can be extended indefinitely until they "rather become quasi-permanent,” Bossong said.
That opens the door to border controls becoming increasingly the rule rather than the exception. For example, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway are Schengen countries with ongoing border controls. These are generally grounded in concerns over irregular migration and cross-border crime, though in Norway's case increased controls are due to securing critical infrastructure – especially the country's lucrative energy sector – from Russian interference and hybrid attacks.
In the EU, out of Schengen
Notably, Ireland – which operates its own travel area with the United Kingdom – is an EU member that does not participate in Schengen. That means those arriving to the country from other EU member states can expect to have to show identification and provide a valid reason to enter.
Another EU island nation, Cyprus, is also outside Schengen, but it does recognize Schengen-area visas. Unlike Ireland, it hopes to join the area and is having its application reviewed.
There are other Schengen hopefuls. Romania and Bulgaria have applied for full Schengen participation, but were blocked by Austria and the Netherlands, which expressed migration concerns. A 2022 resolution in the EP called on the European Commission to find an agreement that would grant Romania and Bulgaria full Schengen rights.
Joining the Schengen Area requires countries to meet strict conditions, including assuming responsibility for external EU borders, issuing Schengen-compatible visas and aligning their law enforcement with Schengen security protocols.
While it may seem to the casual observer that people can come and go as they please, the Schengen Information System (SIS) serves as a database that tracks visa data, arrest warrants, and information on criminals and missing persons. Additional security is set to come into place soon, SWP's Bossong said, that “increases the electronic networks of control within the Schengen zone.”
Risk of rolling back freedom of movement
The freedom of movement that the Schengen Area offers is one of the EU’s most cherished achievements and going back on that comes with significant risks that are “a real concern, not a hypothetical concern,” he said.
If border controls become more common, the economic benefits of seamless travel across Europe could be hampered, harming tourism and trade. More security between internal EU borders could weaken political unity within the bloc, exacerbating tensions between its members.
Some of this tension is already on display as a result of Germany's decision to extend border controls, as officials from around the EU criticized the country's “unilateral” move.
"There is a risk of a race to the bottom,” Carerra from CEPS said. If EU-level agreement succumbs to disparate national border rules, it could mean the “end of the Schengen Area as we know it.”