Data emerging from both Berlin and The Hague reveals the mounting financial and logistical toll of the extended measures, which German authorities have already decided to maintain well into 2026.
The controls, which represent an exception to the European Union’s Schengen Area rules, were introduced to curb irregular migration and combat cross-border crime.
€8 million cost and 730 km of congestion for the Netherlands
The Netherlands, one of Germany’s most important trading partners, has faced rising operational expenses simply to manage the resulting congestion.
Reporting by Dutch newspaper AD, based on figures confirmed by Rijkswaterstaat (the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management), shows that traffic-management measures on the Dutch side have already cost more than €8 million over roughly the past year.
These measures include the installation of holding lanes, temporary signage, and additional supervision to keep roads safe and maintain access for emergency services — particularly at the chronically congested A12/A3 border crossing.
The cost to the transport sector is arguably far greater than the government’s operational bill:
- Economic loss: Industry estimates suggest that every hour a truck stands idle costs a business €75–€100.
- Commuter toll: For drivers crossing the A12 into Germany daily, AD calculated the cumulative effect as roughly 730 kilometres of traffic jams per year — the equivalent of 91 to 182 hours of waiting time.
- Daily delays: Rijkswaterstaat estimates that average delays range between 15 and 30 minutes per trip.
The staggering price tag for German operations
According to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, in a response to a parliamentary inquiry reported by the German press agency dpa, operations by the Federal Police along all of Germany’s land borders incurred total costs of €80.5 million between mid-September 2024 and 30 June 2025.
The ministry said the bulk of the expenditure stems from overtime payments (€37.9 million). Other notable costs include:
- €8 million for personnel food and accommodation.
- €2.6 million for command-and-control equipment.
- Smaller sums for allowances and the operation of border facilities.
The controls were initially introduced by former interior minister Nancy Faeser and have since been tightened and extended by her successor, Alexander Dobrindt, signalling a longer-term political commitment.
Between 8 May and 4 August 2025, 493 people who had already lodged asylum applications were turned back at Germany’s borders.
The Schengen Area under pressure
Germany is far from alone. Across Europe, the ideal of passport-free travel — once a defining achievement of the Schengen Area — is fading as internal border checks, first introduced as temporary safeguards, become part of daily reality for hauliers and commuters.
Under EU law, such checks are permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as serious threats to public order or internal security. Yet what began as short-term crisis measures has quietly evolved into a near-permanent feature across much of the continent.
According to the European Commission’s current notifications, at least ten Schengen countries — including Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Norway — currently maintain some form of internal border control. Most cite irregular migration, terrorism and organised crime as the main reasons.
Germany’s controls are among the most extensive, covering crossings with France, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic, and currently authorised until March 2026. France has extended its own until April 2026, citing persistent jihadist threats and rising antisemitic violence. Denmark and Sweden justify theirs with concerns over Russian sabotage and cross-border gang crime, while Poland and Slovenia refer to hybrid threats and pressure from the Belarusian border.
Even the Netherlands, traditionally an advocate of open borders, has reinstated limited checks at land and air frontiers until December 2025, citing a surge in asylum applications and smuggling activity.
For the European logistics industry, this growing patchwork of national measures is creating an increasingly unpredictable operating environment. Hauliers who once planned seamless international routes must now factor in additional waiting times, document checks, and congestion at borders that had long ceased to exist.
