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The German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) informed the European Commission earlier this week that it has ordered the temporary reintroduction of border control at Germany’s land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark for six months, starting 16 September 2024. The complete package of stationary and mobile border policing measures, including the possibility to refuse entry at the border, will be applied at all of Germany’s land borders.

Checks at Germany’s land border with Austria are currently in place until 11 November 2024, while the order to conduct checks at the land borders with Switzerland, the Republic of Poland and the Czech Republic remains in force until 15 December 2024. These temporary border control measures will be continued, and their scheduling coordinated.

The BMI justifies these border controls by the need to limit irregular migration and protect Germany’s internal security. Disruptions may arise due to this control, including delays and long waiting times for heavy-duty vehicles. The Federal Police will work closely with their domestic and partner authorities in neighbouring countries at the relevant land borders and are committed to keeping the impact on the movement of goods and commodities and on commuter traffic in the border regions as low as possible. Where local conditions permit, the Federal Police, in coordination with the local transport authorities, will examine the possibility of setting up green lanes/special lanes for trucks, which have already facilitated cross-border freight traffic during the coronavirus pandemic – and the associated entry restrictions.

CLECAT takes note of the decision of the German federal government and notes that the situation can only be limited in time. The Schengen Borders Code (SBC) provides Member States with the capability of temporarily reintroducing border control at the internal borders in the event of a serious threat to public policy or internal security.  The reintroduction of border control at the internal borders must be applied as a last resort measure, in exceptional situations, and must respect the principle of proportionality. 

Source: German Federal Ministry of Interior and Community (BMI)