The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, announced on Friday 13 March guidelines for coordinating Member States’ action in re-establishing controls at internal borders within the Schengen area of free movement of persons.
Following a meeting of EU interior ministers at which nine of them did not physically participate, Johansson explained that these internal controls, which are reappearing as a result of the spread of COVID-19, must remain “coordinated, effective and proportionate”.
In the guidelines to be published at the end of the day, the Commission explains to the Member States that, as far as the Schengen external borders are concerned, the authorities will also be able to apply not only identity checks but also “health checks”. If they were to find that the persons being examined are symptomatic and “pose a threat”, “entry bans” could be imposed and, although the best solution would be to “quarantine” them, they may simply be inadmissible, the Commissioner added.
Regarding internal controls, the Commissioner mainly called on national governments to coordinate well with their neighbours and to inform each other of these measures.
To date, three Member States have formally notified internal border controls: Austria did so on 11 March, followed by Hungary and the Czech Republic.
These are checks under Article 28 of the Schengen Code. The grounds: disturbance of public order or internal security, as health may be a criterion for resorting to this article. They are conducted for 10 days, renewable for a period of 2 months.
In concrete terms, as far as Austria is concerned, these controls take place at the Brenner Pass on the border with Italy, but Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced on 13 March on his Twitter account that the border with Switzerland would also be controlled, as would air traffic to and from France or Germany.
Hungary has notified controls at its borders with Slovenia and Austria.
The Czech Republic, for its part, notified controls at its land borders with Germany and Austria and controls at its air borders between 14 and 18 March, respectively, the Commission said.
Switzerland, a Schengen member country, also indicated on 13 March that it had re-established controls at its Schengen borders.
But almost all Member States also carry out control operations in their border areas. They shall inform the Commission and the other Member States every Wednesday by teleconference. Such health checks do not have to be notified, the Commissioner confirmed.
These measures are aimed at screening and identifying passengers at risk in trains, for example, temperature checks or passenger information.
In addition to the Schengen-specific measures, several Member States have in recent days imposed territorial bans on EU nationals, in particular French and Italian nationals.
For example, on 13 March Croatia introduced bans for nationals of 12 Member States, including France.
The Czech Republic prohibits the entry of all foreigners, only Czechs and permanent residents may enter its territory. Hungary had taken similar action earlier in the week.
In this connection, the Commissioner called on the Member States to ensure that their nationals can return and that nationals of one Member State are not blocked by another Member State and prevented from returning home either.
Member States need to be “pragmatic” in their controls and not “block activities any further”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)