The future of the Schengen Area, a passport-free zone that connects 420 million people across Europe, has been called into question due to recent events in Germany and Hungary related to irregular migration. The emergence of the Schengen Area was seen as a major achievement of European integration, but its stability has been threatened by challenges such as the mass arrival of asylum seekers and the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary reintroduction of border checks by countries such as Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Sweden, and Denmark has raised concerns about the sustainability of the Schengen Agreement.
In August, a knife attack in the German city of Solingen carried out by a Syrian national reignited debates about migration and border security. The attacker, whose asylum application had been rejected with an order to return to Bulgaria, prompted conservative criticism of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government. In response, Scholz ordered tighter border checks at all nine of Germany’s land borders to reduce irregular migration. This move was met with mixed reactions, with Poland’s Prime Minister condemning it as a suspension of the Schengen Agreement and Austria refusing to accept any migrants rejected by Germany.
The European Commission has treaded cautiously in response to these developments, citing the Schengen Borders Code that allows member states to implement internal border checks in cases of serious threats to public policy or internal security. However, concerns persist that the Schengen Area may be at risk of unraveling. Hungary’s plan to bus irregular migrants to Belgium as a form of retaliation against a fine imposed by the European Court of Justice has raised further alarm about the potential for instrumentalized migration within the EU.
Internal border checks run counter to the spirit of the Schengen Area, which aims to create a seamless travel experience for citizens across Europe. Despite the legal limits placed on the duration of these checks, many member states have extended them for prolonged periods. The effectiveness of border checks in curbing irregular migration is also questioned, with varying levels of enforcement and intensity observed across different countries. The recent reform of the Schengen Borders Code, which extends the legal limit of border controls and provides provisions for addressing health emergencies and instrumentalized migration, indicates a continued reliance on border controls as a security measure.
While the Schengen Area is not yet on the verge of collapse, recent events have highlighted the challenges and uncertainties surrounding its future. The history of Schengen as an intergovernmental agreement tied to the EU asylum system suggests that security-oriented border controls will continue to shape its evolution. The future of Schengen may be marked by ongoing tension and uncertainty, as member states grapple with the complex issues of migration management and border security within a unified Europe.
