N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column
Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, announced that France will control all its borders for illegal immigration from November 1. France already did so at the Italian border and is now going to expand it to all neighbouring countries. According to Barnier, the controls at the border with Italy have proved their worth. It means that after Germany, France is going to introduce controls at all its borders.
A remarkable moment. In 1985, the two countries were, together with the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg, the founders of the Schengen agreement that was supposed to make the EU-border-free. The treaty formed the basis for free movement of people and goods throughout the future European Union. Custom offices disappeared along motorways between most of the EU member states and their citizens with their EU passport were able to travel by plane without significant checks.
Now, EU countries seem to decide more and more to temporary border controls. Austria is the champion, Denmark and Sweden have also started to check again, just as Norway, a non-EU country but belonging to the Schengen group, The main reasons are the fight against Muslim terrorism and cross-border crime but also more and more the fight against illegal migration.
With border controls as the new normal in the Schengen area, the question rises, is there still much to celebrate in 2025, on the fortieth anniversary of the Schengen Treaty?
