The German Greens published an open letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, calling on the EU to stop checks at several German border crossings that they believe are in violation of the Schengen agreement, Euractiv reports.
The German government has registered several border crossings for checks as exceptions to the borderless Schengen movement zone to deter illegal migration as allowed under the code’s rules.
With some fearing the Schengen zone is under threat, the German Greens, who are part of the coalition government, criticised their government’s internal border controls in an open letter to von der Leyen. The letter read, according to German media:
We are writing to you today with concerns regarding the stationary border controls introduced by the Federal Ministry of the Interior with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.
After the two sporting events end, the fixed border controls should also be discontinued, they added.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD/ SPD) introduced fixed border controls at the borders with the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland last October amid a rise in illegal border crossings. At the border with Austria, checks have been in place since 2015.
Temporary checks at all German borders during the European Football Championship and at the Franco-German border during the Olympics have also led to calls to register checks everywhere as permanent exceptions.
Breaking the code
The letter argues that the current checks do not comply with the Schengen exemption rules. The letter was signed by MEPs Anna Cavazzini and Erik Marquardt and German MPs Filiz Polat and Marcel Emmerich. They wrote:
A new expert report shows that the intended effect of border controls and related reports of success are highly questionable and in many cases not statistically proven.
While Faeser praised the effectiveness of the checks, the letter said there were indications of evasion, double counting and possibly illegal refusals, citing an expert assessment commissioned by the Greens.
It casts doubt on whether inspections in Germany fulfil the code’s preconditions for exemptions, which require them to be time-limited and only used as a last resort. Exemptions in Germany have been extended several times.
The Greens called on the EU Commission to check compliance with the code as a “guardian of the treaties” that “must enforce the law.” They argued that the checks put a burden on people and companies in border regions, as well as on passengers, trade and police.
Other Schengen members such as France, Sweden, Norway and Austria have also introduced controls in recent years.
While the Commission has previously said it is considering “the necessity and proportionality of the newly introduced border controls,” it has not yet imposed any restrictions.
