Photo Customs Administration of Slovenia
(BRUSSELS) – The EU Commission proposed Wednesday to prolong controls at certain internal Schengen borders – in Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway – for a further three months.
While the Commission reiterated its intention to return to normal functioning of the Schengen area “as soon as possible”, it has been forced to admit that conditions for a return to a normally functioning Schengen area are not yet fully fulfilled.
EC first vice-president Frans Timmermans insisted that the extension was “protecting Schengen”.
“The Schengen area without internal borders is a historical achievement which we must preserve,” he said. “We are working hard to return to a normal functioning Schengen area as soon as possible, and we have made significant progress. But we are not there yet. That’s why we propose today a further limited extension of certain border controls, in line with the Schengen rules.”
There has been significant decrease in the number of migrant and asylum arrivals, though many ‘irregular migrant’ remain in Greece as well as in EU Member States most affected by secondary movements from Greece.
The EU executive is concerned that lifting temporary border controls could lead to an increase in secondary movements, while a large number of asylum requests over the past year have put significant strain on national administrations and services in the five Schengen States to which the Recommendation is addressed.
It believes the full implementation of the European Border and Coast Guard will strengthen protection of the EU’s external borders, as will continued implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement.
While “exceptional circumstances” persist, the Commission says it is justified to allow the Member States concerned to prolong the current internal border controls. It has asked the countries that opt to continue carrying out internal border controls to conduct weekly reviews.
The prolongation concerns the following internal borders:
- Austria: at the Austrian-Hungarian and Austrian-Slovenian land border;
- Germany: at the German-Austrian land border;
- Denmark: in Danish ports with ferry connections to Germany and at the Danish-German land border;
- Sweden: in Swedish harbours in the Police Region South and West and at the Öresund bridge;
- Norway: in Norwegian ports with ferry connections to Denmark, Germany and Sweden.
Further information
Questions and answers: A coordinated EU approach for temporary internal border controls
