The European Commission recommended on May 2 that temporary border controls inside the Schengen area (external link) between Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway be kept in place for another six months. But the commission said this will be the last possible extension and that border controls will have to be lifted by Nov. 11. The Council of the European Union will now vote on the commission's recommendation and will almost certainly approve it. The recommendation follows a decision by the EU General Affairs Council on Feb. 7 to extend temporary border controls among these countries until May 11. According to the European Commission, the Continent's migrant situation is stable and improving, but the high number of asylum seekers and migrants still present in Greece compelled the commission to greenlight one final extension of the border controls as a precautionary measure. By Nov. 11, the affected Schengen countries will have to put in place alternative measures if needed, such as flexible police checks.
At the height of the migrant crisis, around September 2015, several EU countries began implementing extraordinary border controls to stem the flow of people arriving at their doorsteps via the Balkan route — used by migrants crossing from Turkey through Greece and the Balkans to enter the Schengen area en route to Northern Europe. And last May, the Council of the European Union formally allowed some members of the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates border controls among member states, to temporarily close their doors. But the commission has begun trying to re-establish free movement within the passport-free Schengen area through its "Back to Schengen" agenda. In order to impose temporary border controls, Schengen countries would need to demonstrate a serious threat to public order and internal security.
Brussels claims that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, established last October, is protecting the external borders of the Schengen area effectively. The commission also reports that unauthorized arrivals in Greece have decreased by 97 percent since Brussels and Ankara signed a deal to prevent migrants in Turkey from reaching Greece in March 2016. Though recent tensions between the European Union and Turkey are casting doubts on the stability of the agreement, the commission has assessed that conditions are ripening for a gradual return to free movement within the Schengen area.
For now, temporary border controls are being maintained primarily because migrants already present in Greece and the Balkans could still try to travel to Northern Europe. Border controls are also meant to discourage migrants from trying to travel to the European Union in the future. But they cause queues and delays, limit the free movement guaranteed in the Schengen area, and ultimately threaten the existence of the very core of the European Union: the single market. Indeed, on May 2, the Swedish government announced that it would lift controls at its border with Denmark, since the number of migrants flowing into its territory has dropped significantly over the past year. Still, several countries want to preserve the measures to ease domestic fears related to illegal migrants and terrorism — and to counter the rise of far-right anti-immigrant parties. This is true in Austria, and in Germany: Since the terrorist attack in Berlin last year, the German government has been pushing to keep border controls in place at least until pivotal parliamentary elections are held this September.
