The border checks, initially reintroduced in September, aim to prevent unauthorised entries and combat cross-border crime. The measures primarily target asylum seekers arriving from neighbouring EU countries, who are subject to the bloc’s Dublin rules, requiring asylum applications to be processed in the first EU country of arrival.
According to Scholz, the controls have proven effective. Since their implementation, authorities have rejected 47,000 people at the borders, asylum applications have dropped by a third in 2024 compared to 2023, and 1,900 people smugglers have been arrested.
Germany has formally notified the European Union of the extension, which will keep the border checks in place for at least another six months.
Schengen border controls in place
Germany is not the only country implementing internal border checks within the Schengen area. Several EU nations have introduced similar measures due to concerns over migration, security, and public order.
According to the European Commission, at the time of writing (13 February 2025) the following countries have border controls in place:
- Germany: borders with France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Poland (16 March 2025 – 15 September 2025).
- Bulgaria: borders with Romania (1 January 2025 – 30 June 2025).
- Slovenia: borders with Croatia and Hungary (22 December 2024 – 21 June 2025).
- Italy: border with Slovenia (19 December 2024 – 18 June 2025).
- Austria: borders with Hungary and Slovenia (12 November 2024 – 11 May 2025).
- The Netherlands: land and air borders with Belgium and Germany (9 December 2024 – 8 June 2025).
- Norway: ports with ferry connections to the Schengen area (12 November 2024 – 11 May 2025).
- Denmark: all internal borders, including land and sea borders with Germany (12 November 2024 – 11 May 2025).
- France: borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain (1 November 2024 – 30 April 2025).
- Sweden: all internal borders (12 November 2024 – 11 May 2025).
Many of these border controls cite concerns over irregular migration, smuggling, organised crime, and security threats, particularly linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and terrorism risks.