Jakub Wolinski gives the impression of a calm person, not a conflicted personality. However, this did not prevent him from filing a lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Germany over the renewed border controls with Poland.
Wolinski was born in Zgorzelec - a city located directly opposite the German Görlitz on the other side of the common border. The Pole is an employee of a large German company and crosses the border every day, where he is constantly stopped for inspection - perhaps also because his minibus has tinted windows.
For German police, such vehicles are suspicious and therefore they are considered illegal migrants. “I use the car for personal needs, I have also installed child seats in it, and the vehicle documents indicate where I am registered. "I don't know on what grounds the police might suspect me of transporting people across the border," he told DW.
Are there any special rules for minibuses?
Furthermore, he is not aware of any different rules for minibuses in the Schengen area laws - for example, that they can be checked more often. "The German government must immediately end border controls with Poland," says Christoph Tometen, Wolinski's lawyer in this case. "It is unacceptable for Germany to systematically violate European law with these checks. The free movement of EU citizens is an exceptional value that must not be jeopardized any longer. The Court of Justice of the European Union has repeatedly emphasized this, and it is also mandatory for German authorities and courts," the lawyer emphasizes.
For the Berlin lawyer, this is not the first case related to border controls in the EU - He also represented an Austrian citizen in court who brought a case against Austria for being searched on a train travelling from Austria to Germany. In this case, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled that border controls cannot be introduced and extended without a valid reason. Therefore, there is hope for Jakub Wolinski.
“Last year, amendments were made to the Schengen Borders Code and now member states have the right to introduce border controls for two years, which can be extended up to twice under certain conditions“, Johanna Hase from the Institute for European Policy in Berlin explains to DW. "The checks can be extended for up to three years with the same justification, but after that they can also point to another valid reason for maintaining border controls," she says.
Traffic jams again
But back to Görlitz: Life in the Saxon town on the Polish border has deteriorated significantly since border controls were reintroduced in October 2023, says Wolinski. Long-forgotten problems are resurfacing, such as traffic jams on the motorway, in the city and at border crossings. In addition, the checks make Wolinski feel like a potential smuggler every time he crosses the border.
The Schengen rules, which are the legal basis for open borders in Europe, do allow for the temporary reintroduction of border controls, but only in exceptional circumstances - for example, if there is a serious threat to internal security. However, this must be very well justified and cannot be expanded arbitrarily, as Austria's defeat before the Court of Justice of the European Union shows.
Uncontrolled migration and some attacks served as justification for Germany's extraordinary measures. "I doubt that the threat is really so great that it would force Germany to introduce such an extreme measure as border control," says legal expert Haze. "That's why I'm curious to see how the case will develop," she adds.
Schengen and Dublin
The temporary return of border controls is also the result of non-compliance with the Dublin Regulation, which stipulates that asylum seekers be accepted in the first country through which they enter the territory of the EU. And neither Germany nor Austria are such countries. In this regard, Wolinski has a proposal: that the German police officers who control the German-Polish border be sent to help the Polish border guards guarding the country's eastern border, that is, the external border of the EU.
The Pole is concerned about preserving a fundamental European freedom - the freedom of movement guaranteed by “Schengen. “My case is against Germany, because I live on the German-Polish border. But this is not the only case - the Danes control the border, the Austrians, the French, and not only them. We are observing the slow disintegration of the Schengen area and I believe that we must do something about it now. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing a great European value,“ Wolinski also told DW.