Today in Brussels, during a joint meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs (LIBE) and the Committee on Petitions (PETI), a hearing was held titled “Border Controls and the Future of the Schengen Area”. During the discussion, which included experts and representatives of the European Commission, PiS MEPs Bogdan Rzońca and Jadwiga Wiśniewska took the floor.
Bogdan Rzońca, Chair of the PETI Committee, opened the hearing by noting that the Committee on Petitions had recently considered petitions regarding the temporary reintroduction of border controls at internal borders by certain member states. “The petitioners argue that the reintroduction of border controls hinders free movement, harms the EU economy, reduces road safety, and increases driver fatigue as well as CO2 emissions due to long lines,” said the PiS MEP. Rzońca emphasized that with the expansion of the Schengen Area, this issue is gaining in importance, “especially for mobile workers.” The host of the hearing stated that, in response to these petitions, today’s hearing would examine the historical development of the Schengen Area, the recent legislative reforms introduced in July 2024, and the challenges facing the Schengen Area.
Jadwiga Wiśniewska recalled that last week the German government once again extended border controls by six months. “We are talking here about the de facto dismantling of the Schengen Area,” the MEP said. She stated that these actions by the German government are driven by short-term political needs related to the migration crisis and the chaos into which Germany is plunging as a result.
The PiS MEP also recalled that when Germany once again extended border controls last September, she asked the European Commission what grounds, within the meaning of Article 25 of the Schengen Code, the German government had cited. As she explained, the European Commission responded that Germany had cited “the terrorist threat posed by Islamists and the impact of crimes committed by refugees on the general sense of security among German citizens” as the reasons. “Half a year has passed, and I would like to know what circumstances the German government is now citing in extending border controls yet again? Can the grounds cited by the German government be considered ‘exceptional and definitive,’ as referred to in Article 25 of the Schengen Code, given that a number of other Schengen countries—including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden?” Wiśniewska asked. The MEP also noted that today the Belgian threat analysis coordination unit is warning of a new terrorist threat targeting Brussels and Antwerp. She explained that this involves digital flyers sent to Muslims living in Europe, “calling on them to drive into crowds, as happened recently in Germany.”
“Germany’s prolonged use of border controls is having a very serious impact on the economies of neighboring countries, particularly Poland and the Czech Republic,” said the MEP, noting that the operations of transportation and logistics companies are being restricted. She added that the problem also affects companies operating near the border. “This is, of course, contrary to the principle of proportionality,” said Wiśniewska, asking whether the Commission is aware that the German government is using the reinstatement and extension of border controls for domestic political purposes and “this is, in fact, an attempt to salvage its image and put out the fire that Germany itself ignited through the irresponsible migration policy it imposed on the entire European Union.”
