Member States cannot force bus operators to check passengers' passports and residence permits before crossing a national border within the Schengen area, the European Court of Justice confirmed on Thursday 13 December in cases C-412/17 and C-474/17, endorsing the Advocate General's conclusions of 6 September (see EUROPE 12090).
According to them, "such controls have an effect equivalent to that of border checks and are therefore prohibited". Consequently, States may not adopt decisions prohibiting, subject to a fine, operators who have failed to comply with this obligation from carrying out any further transport under the same conditions, the Court adds.
The German authorities had noted that the companies Touring Tours and Travel and Sociedad de Transportes, which offer bus travel from the Netherlands and Belgium, had transported foreign nationals without the required travel documents to Germany. They had asked them to check travel documents when checking tickets when boarding the bus, and to refuse people without the required documents.
These companies had brought a case before the German court, which in turn asked the Court whether the authorities of a Member State can force bus operators to check the travel documents of their passengers before crossing an internal EU border.
The Court therefore ruled against Germany. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)