Faeser: Notify EU of additional border controls

Smugglers are easier to catch with stationary controls, however, because with controls beyond the border they are often already gone when the police seize the irregularly entered people.

Refoulements at Schengen internal borders are legally permissible only if the temporary reintroduction of border controls was previously notified to the EU Commission. However, rejections are only used in relatively few cases, such as when a foreigner is subject to an entry ban or when he or she does not apply for asylum.

Although the principle of open internal borders actually applies in the Schengen area, several states have currently notified border controls. France, for example, has applied for controls on its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, citing terror risks and irregular migration via the central Mediterranean route and the so-called Balkan route. However, the French do not check everywhere around the clock, but rather selectively and adapted to the situation. So similarly it should run in the future probably also at the border of Germany to Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland.