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Berlin (dpa) – In upcoming negotiations for a reform of the rules in the Schengen area, Austria wants to ensure that temporary controls remain possible at the EU’s internal borders.
Such checks should also be allowed “if necessary” in the future, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told the European Police Congress in Berlin. Schengen states need “robust protection of external borders” – “so that we can also guarantee freedom of travel on our continent in the future”.
Karner also announced that controls at Austria’s borders with Hungary and Slovenia will last at least six months. The aim is to stop human traffickers who advertise open borders in Europe in the shadow of the war in Ukraine. Germany has resumed control of the border between Bavaria and Austria since 2015. The regulation was extended until November on instructions from Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).
Several states use exemptions
In fact, there are no stationary identity checks at the borders of the Schengen area of 26 European countries. In recent years, however, several states have used an exception and reintroduced controls. Germany has controlled the border with Austria since autumn 2015. At that time, tens of thousands of refugees and other migrants made their way from Greece to Western Europe via the Balkan route.
The EU Commission proposed a reform in December. It is being discussed that affected neighboring countries should be consulted in advance. According to reports, there is also a desire in the federal government for greater coordination, especially on the part of the Itamaraty. Until now, internal border controls have been decided by the Ministry of the Interior, usually after discussions with the federal states involved.
ECJ: No default controls
The European Court of Justice (TJ) ruled in April that states can only extend these controls in the event of “a new serious threat to their public order or their internal security”. In this specific case, it was the practice on the border between Austria and Slovenia.
To justify the controls, Faeser referred to a “fragile situation on the Turkish-Greek border, potential for illegal migration along the Balkan route and along the central Mediterranean route” and “considerable illegal secondary migration”. This comes from a response by the federal government to a question from the left-wing faction’s refugee policy spokeswoman Clara Bünger. The analysis of the possible effects of the ECJ ruling is still ongoing.
Bünger called for an immediate end to these controls. “If the federal government is concerned with preventing unwanted migration of refugees into the EU, then it must work for a fair and supportive EU asylum system.” She couldn’t understand why Faeser was adhering to “the erroneous policy and legal opinion” of his predecessor Horst Seehofer (CSU).
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220511-99-246060/2
Source: DPA