Germany, The Netherlands, and other Schengen Area members face calls from the European Commission to cease controlling internal borders.
Nations’ internal border controls reappeared in the Schengen zone to improve security and address the problem of illegal migration. Now Brussels believes that these are no longer necessary.
While some entities—including Dutch border municipalities—would welcome an end to traffic delays and other administrative burdens, currently nation states such as Germany are ignoring the request.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Thursday said that internal border checks remain “necessary.”
As an alternative, the Commission flags up digital border controls at the European Union’s external borders and the new EU Migration Pact. Brussels cites this as enabling the phase-out of controls within the Schengen area, but national governments are concerned that without internal border controls Europe’s migrant crisis will worsen.
