Threat to the existence of the Schengen area: 70% of Europeans advocate for the return of national border control
Kyiv • UNN
A new survey in 23 EU countries revealed growing skepticism about Brussels' migration policy. The majority of citizens demand that national governments independently guard their borders, which threatens the Schengen area.
A new large-scale survey conducted in 23 European Union countries recorded a critical increase in skepticism regarding Brussels' common migration policy. The majority of citizens demand that the EU leadership grant national governments the right to independently protect their state borders, which jeopardizes the existence of the Schengen area. This is reported by Politico, writes UNN.
Details
According to a study by FGS Global, conducted for Politico, 71% of almost 12,000 respondents believe that member states should have significantly more powers to manage immigration processes. Such results appeared against the backdrop of ongoing disputes in Brussels regarding the reform of the external border protection system and the distribution of the burden among the bloc's countries.
Since 2025, 12 EU governments have officially informed the European Commission about the introduction of temporary border controls, with eight of them citing uncontrolled migration as the main reason. Although Schengen rules allow such measures only as a last resort, in practice many countries have maintained border checks for several years in a row.
Threat to the Schengen area and "secondary movements"
EU interior ministers, during a recent meeting in Cyprus, emphasized that the future of Europe without internal borders "depends on trust and shared responsibility."
However, trust is undermined by so-called secondary movements – when migrants, having arrived in Italy or Greece, move unhindered further to wealthier countries in Northern and Western Europe.
A departure from EU-level coordination in favor of national barriers could lead to the de facto collapse of the Schengen area, which is one of the main achievements of European integration. Currently, Brussels is trying to find a compromise that would satisfy voters' demands for security without destroying freedom of movement within the bloc.