The European Commission today presented recommendations to the nine Schengen countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden) that continue to carry out internal border checks. The Commission recommends a gradual abolition of the checks due to the upcoming entry into force of new European rules on asylum and migration on June 12, BTA reported.
EU law allows for the temporary introduction of such border checks under certain conditions and requires the EC to issue an opinion when the checks last more than 12 months. States can reintroduce border checks in the event of a serious threat to public order or internal security, the Commission said in a statement. It added that the new European rules will improve the security of the EU's external borders and make it easier to track movement in Schengen. The changes will better identify who, when and where has crossed the EU's external border, the commission said.
According to the EC, there are other viable options to replace the temporary reintroduction of internal borders, such as non-permanent police checks and video surveillance of vehicles. The countries listed today have introduced checks at internal Schengen borders due to security concerns, mainly linked to migration to the EU over the last decade.