Four decades later, the Schengen Area no longer seems so free; internal border controls are becoming stricter.
UNN reports with reference to Euractiv and DW.
Details
The 40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement does not seem as festive as it once did – various new threats are influencing it, requiring more meticulous border checks, limiting certain freedoms that were not previously in the primary focus of security services' work.
This week, Poland introduced border control with Germany and Lithuania. This is not the first time a Schengen country has taken such a step.
Such measures are typically justified by the need to prevent illegal immigration, combat human trafficking, or protect national security.
According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, these restrictions are temporary and aimed at preventing human trafficking and illegal immigration.
Schengen Reference
First introduced in 1985, and later recognized as one of the bloc's defining achievements, the Schengen Area allows people, goods, and services to travel freely across 27 countries: 23 EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
Every day, about 3.5 million people cross internal borders, and about 32 million businesses save money on notorious bureaucratic costs.
This freedom has been repeatedly tested. According to Schengen rules, member countries have the right to temporarily reintroduce border checks. Since 2015, this has been done more frequently. This trend has been influenced by a sharp increase in the number of refugees and migrants, mainly from the Middle East. For a long time, this was considered a key factor that provoked the reintroduction of internal border checks.
At that time, EU countries presented this as a "temporary" measure to mitigate the crisis.
How other EU countries react
Among the examples:
- France has maintained border controls since the 2015 terrorist attacks.
- Austria introduced controls at its borders with Slovenia and Hungary in September of the same year, at the height of the refugee crisis. Since then, the country has continued it every six months, citing migration and security risks.
- Slovenia introduced controls with Croatia less than a year after the country joined the Schengen Area. This was explained as measures due to increased migration flows, as well as concerns about organized crime.
- Germany, which long resisted strengthening its internal borders, began expanding them in the autumn of 2024, and the European Commission has not yet officially reacted.
Losses for EU economies
It should be noted that Schengen is a key driver of the EU economy. Possible changes and even abolition will have direct consequences for trade, commuting, tourism, and costs associated with border control.
Annual operating costs are estimated at 2 to 4 billion euros per year, or approximately 0.02% to 0.03% of the total Schengen Area GDP.
That is, the abolition of the free movement zone is likely to undermine the foundations of the eurozone.
Another significant aspect:
Permanent border checks can lead to the following consequences:
- slowing down the movement of people and goods across the continent;
- tourism will become more expensive;
- daily commutes for 1.7 million cross-border workers in the Schengen Area will become difficult and costly.
The risks are that this could cost between 3 and 4 billion euros per year. Smaller countries such as Slovakia and Luxembourg will be most affected.
Recall
UNN previously reported that in 2025, Ukrainians will pay for entry to Europe, because new border control systems EES and ETIAS will operate at checkpoints.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the Schengen Area by land from January 2025.