On Tuesday 10 September, the European Commission announced that it had received notification from the German government concerning the reintroduction of checks at all its internal borders, in the context of the attack in Solingen (see EUROPE 13469/3) on 23 August.
While it indicated that Member States may carry out such controls under the Schengen Borders Code in response to threats to their internal security, it argued for “proportionate measures” that must be strictly “necessary”.
Reintroducing controls at Europe’s internal borders is “a possibility”, but they must be “necessary and proportionate”, stressed spokeswoman Anitta Hipper, pointing out that such measures must remain a “last resort” and “exceptional”.
On 9 September, Olaf Scholz’s government announced plans to introduce controls at all its borders to combat illegal immigration.
Checks with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark will be introduced for six months from 16 September. They will be in addition to the controls already in place at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, according to AFP.
According to AFP, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, denounced these German measures as “unacceptable”.
Eleven Schengen member countries (including Norway) currently - and since 2015 for many of them - carry out checks at certain parts of their borders, in particular to respond to irregular migratory flows or the risk of terrorist attacks. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)