Is Schengen limited?

Illustrative photo from open sources

Germany, which is located in the center of Europe and neighbors 9 European countries, has introduced additional controls at its borders since Monday, September 16. Now trains and trams from France, which previously passed freely into German territory, are checked by police officers. Buses from Poland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland also pass through control, reports “Voice of America”.

According to the German authorities, the measures are temporary. And for now they will last 6 months. According to a federal police spokesman, in order to avoid unnecessary inconvenience, only suspicious vehicles are checked at the borders.

“Our controls are very flexible and situation-based, which means that we do not set up a classic border post and check every vehicle or every person. Instead, we focus on vehicles where we suspect illegal migration. By doing this, we want to minimize the inconvenience to the movement of citizens and the transport of goods,” explains Dieter Hutt, spokesman for the German Federal Police.

However, the checks have already caused traffic jams on the Polish-German border, and with them, complaints. Many Polish citizens travel to work and study in Germany every day, and the additional controls create inconvenience for them. Last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also expressed dissatisfaction in a conversation with Scholz.

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“The only way to stop illegal migration is to effectively control the external borders of the European Union. Not the internal ones. The Polish position on this issue remains unchanged,” he said.

According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the border checks are necessary to combat illegal migration, which is increasingly troubling the country's citizens – a month ago, an immigrant who was not deported in time stabbed three people to death in the Dusseldorf district. And this is just one example.

"Everyone knows that we act in accordance with European law, making maximum use of all the possibilities it allows. This is necessary because too many people come to Germany illegally," – said Scholz.

According to the German Interior Ministry, due to checks introduced at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic last year, it was possible to block more than 30,000 illegal entries into German territory, so it was decided to extend the measures to the borders with other countries. However, some experts believe that the new rules are also connected with the domestic political situation in the country. In the recent regional elections in two states of eastern Germany, the far-right – opponents of Scholz, who advocate a decisive fight against migration – showed high results. A number of analysts are convinced that with the new measures the current chancellor is trying to show that he is also ready to solve the problem. On the other hand, experts note, the restrictions call into question the very idea of ​​Schengen – open movement within the European Union. And other European countries may follow this example.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga