Germany’s border controls threaten EU’s Schengen idea, warns expert

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s decision to reimpose border controls will not stop irregular migration and risks undermining the EU’s unity and cooperation, according to a senior migration expert.

“The current strategy does not lead to solidarity. It does not lead to more control,” Gerald Knaus, co-founder of the Berlin-based think tank European Stability Initiative (ESI), told Anadolu.

“It is putting at risk what has been achieved, which is the biggest border-free area in the world,” he added, referring to the EU's visa-free Schengen zone.

Amid growing domestic pressure to curb irregular migration, the German government announced last week that it will reintroduce temporary checks at all its land borders starting on Sept. 16 and will turn away illegal migrants at the borders.

Knaus pointed out that this decision was taken hastily by the Social Democrat-led coalition government after the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in regional elections.

“This is a desperate measure in a situation with German centrist parties under pressure. But unfortunately, it’s not a measure that will work,” he said.

Knaus stressed that conducting checks at official border crossings is not an effective way to stop irregular migration, and border controls with EU countries like Denmark or the Netherlands are pointless, as they have never been the main routes used by irregular migrants.

“There have already been border controls with Austria for many years. They’ve been introduced also on the borders with Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic last year in autumn. Now they are being extended to borders which really are not very important for irregular migration. This is why I believe that this is a symbolic step,” he said.

- ‘Desperate but ineffective measure’

Starting Monday, German federal police will conduct random checks at the country’s border crossing points with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Those who do not have the right to enter or stay in Germany will be turned away at the border.

Knaus said these measures were mainly “symbolic politics” by the government to influence domestic public opinion, stressing that they will not lead to any significant changes, as irregular migrants could still enter the country by walking through open fields or forests.

“Germany does not have a real border police. It has a federal police. Everywhere in Europe, these borders are not policed. There are thousands of crossings. There have never been any fences. So the idea that just by checking cars at official crossing points or checking people in trains – and that has been going on for a while – you can actually reduce irregular migration … this strikes me as a fantasy,” he said.

“If you are serious about controlling movement inside the EU, you need to take radical measures, build up a border police, create checkpoints, build fences. None of this is planned, so this is why this looks like a desperate but ineffective measure.”

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, remains a top destination for irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving in the EU. Last year, German authorities registered 266,224 cases of illegal entry and residence. Many of the irregular migrants were asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan.

The government came under growing pressure to curb irregular migration after a stabbing attack in the western city of Solingen last month, in which three people were killed and eight others injured by a rejected Syrian asylum seeker. It was the second deadly knife attack by an extremist foreigner in less than three months.

The German government’s decision to conduct checks on EU internal borders has sparked criticism and angry reactions from its neighbors.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was a “de-facto suspension of Schengen,” adding that they will be holding talks with the affected EU member states.

Knaus said that while Germany’s announced measures were more symbolic in nature for the time being, the logic behind it was something that could undermine the idea of a borderless Europe.

“The current strategy does not lead to solidarity. It does not lead to more control. It is putting at risk what has been achieved, which is the biggest border-free area in the world between many sovereign countries,” he reiterated.

“That was a great achievement. It’s very important for people and for the economy, and that is being put at risk through this bad strategy and bad laws and bad compromises at the EU level … Germany is not the first country that has actually started violating EU law, but it’s now contemplating measures that would deepen this crisis rather than resolve it,” he warned.

According to EU regulations, asylum seekers should apply for refugee status in the first European country they enter. Those who are granted asylum are supposed to be distributed across EU member states, but the system has been dysfunctional for years due to the reluctance of several member states to take in refugees.

While most refugees enter Europe via Italy, Greece or Bulgaria, many of them travel to Germany, where they have more opportunities.

With the new measures, German police will not allow asylum seekers to enter the country if they have already applied for asylum in another EU member state.

- Germany should revive stalled EU-Türkiye cooperation on migration

Knaus argued that the best solution for Germany to address this problem would be to revive the stalled EU-Türkiye cooperation on migration, which he said was in the interest of all EU member states and Türkiye.

“I think that … Germany and Türkiye should sit down and discuss for another win-win solution,” he said, adding that the 2016 EU-Türkiye agreement to stem irregular migration was a success, and reviving it could significantly decrease irregular refugee flows.

“Türkiye and Germany have a lot in common. There are now 1 million Syrians already in Germany. Türkiye, of course, famously has the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world – 3.1 million according to the latest official figures. Germany and Türkiye have a common interest that this crisis, which was caused by the war in Syria, is resolved in a humane way,” he said.

Knaus said Germany and its EU partners should share Türkiye’s refugee burden and create legal ways for Syrians who are entitled to protection to come to Europe. He also underlined that the EU should continue providing financial assistance for the Syrian refugees in Türkiye.

Within the scope of this cooperation, he added, the EU and Türkiye can also take further joint actions to curb irregular refugee flows.

“Türkiye needs the EU and rightly demands support from the EU while it is facing this huge number of refugees in its own country, which is not the fault of Türkiye. It’s the fault of the war in Syria,” he said.

“The EU needs Türkiye, so let’s find a win-win solution instead of having smugglers determine who comes to Europe and having the far right exploit this issue,” he said, stressing that the extremely racist and anti-Muslim far-right parties, which have made major gains in recent elections in Europe, are a threat to everyone.