Germany Joins Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Bulgaria in New Schengen Border Clampdown Over Migration and Security

Written By: Rana Pratap

Rana Pratap

My formal education culminated with a Master's in English from Dibrugarh University in 2015, but my real-world learning began simultaneously. Over ten years ago, while still a student, I joined Travel and Tour World as an intern, eager to nurture my love for travel in a professional setting. It has been a privilege to grow with this company, maturing from that initial role into a leadership position. As a Senior Writer and Team Leader today, I comfortably blend my passion for travelling with years of industry experience along with mentoring a creative team.

See Full Bio

May 9, 2025 4:51 PM

Image generated with Ai

Germany has joined Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Bulgaria in a sweeping new move to reinstate internal Schengen border controls, marking a decisive policy shift aimed at curbing irregular migration and addressing national security concerns. Under newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany has launched comprehensive border enforcement measures across all nine of its land borders, deploying thousands of additional police officers and rejecting undocumented entrants arriving from fellow EU states. This alignment with other Schengen countries reflects a growing regional trend to tighten internal checks, despite ongoing debate over the long-term impact on free movement and European unity.

As of May 6, 2025, Germany has begun enforcing strict checks along all nine of its land borders. These include crossings with Austria, France, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Luxembourg. The government has deployed an additional 3,000 federal border police officers, increasing the total to over 14,000 personnel actively monitoring and managing the influx at major checkpoints and road entryways. This deployment accompanies newly adopted procedures that now allow authorities to deny entry to migrants who arrive from other EU states without valid documentation.

The policy shift is seen as a direct attempt to curb irregular migration and uphold national sovereignty in managing immigration flows. According to government sources, these border checks will be used to identify undocumented individuals, reject ineligible asylum seekers at entry points, and reinforce deportation measures. Deportation plans now include controversial returns to countries like Syria and a temporary freeze on family reunification programs, further tightening Germany’s asylum system.

Germany’s clampdown comes amid heightened internal and external pressures. Domestically, public concern over migration has influenced electoral outcomes and shaped coalition priorities. Externally, Germany faces rising cross-border movements from migrants transiting through countries like Italy and Austria en route to northern and western Europe. By adopting these new border policies, Germany joins a coordinated regional movement seeking to reassert national border authority even within the Schengen framework.

Diverging Reactions from European Neighbors

Germany’s hardline shift has drawn sharply mixed reactions from neighboring countries and Schengen partners. Luxembourg, which shares close economic, social, and cultural ties with Germany, has openly criticized the move. Nearly half of Luxembourg’s population consists of foreign nationals—mostly from other EU countries—and over 200,000 people commute daily from France, Germany, and Belgium into Luxembourg for work. The new German controls are expected to cause significant disruption to this daily cross-border flow.

Luxembourg’s Interior Minister Léon Gloden denounced the move, stating that “border controls cause unnecessary cross-border traffic disruptions and negatively impact the lives of people.” He warned that such policies risk recreating psychological borders among citizens, undermining the core spirit of Schengen. Gloden also called the German checks “ineffective and harmful,” accusing Berlin of political tokenism rather than effective migration control. Luxembourg has already filed a formal complaint with the European Commission and is under mounting pressure from the opposition party LSAP to bring Germany before the European Court of Justice.

In contrast, Austria has embraced Germany’s actions. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker congratulated Friedrich Merz on his election and expressed readiness to work collaboratively on border enforcement. Austria itself has enforced internal checks on its frontiers with Hungary, Slovenia, and Slovakia for years, citing similar reasons related to migration along the Western Balkans route. Stocker affirmed, “A shared border also means shared responsibility,” signaling Vienna’s alignment with Berlin’s new strategy.

Switzerland, though not part of the EU but a Schengen member, voiced concern about Germany’s unilateral implementation of such controls. Swiss officials noted that these measures, if uncoordinated, could breach Schengen legal frameworks that require notification and justification for temporary reintroductions of border checks.

The Expanding List of Border-Enforcing Schengen States

Germany now joins Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Bulgaria—countries that have each reintroduced internal border travel measures in recent years under the justification of national security and migration control:

• Austria has maintained extended border checks along routes from Slovenia, Slovakia, and Hungary due to persistent concerns about migrant trafficking and regional instability.
• France continues to enforce entry controls with Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Germany, particularly during major events or amid terror threat alerts.
• Italy has ramped up surveillance and checks on its northern borders with Austria and France in response to increasing migrant landings on its southern coast.
• Denmark focuses its controls on border points with Germany, including road crossings and ferry ports, citing asylum system pressures and national security.
• Netherlands reinstated selective border control measures at major transport hubs, especially targeting smuggling routes and irregular entry patterns.
• Norway, a non-EU Schengen state, has upheld internal checks, particularly at ferry terminals and land crossings from Sweden and Denmark.
• Bulgaria, having partially joined the Schengen Zone in January 2025, continues to use temporary controls at land borders during its phased integration process, particularly for ground crossings with Romania and non-Schengen neighbors.

A Regional Shift Toward Controlled Mobility

The reintroduction of internal border controls, although permitted under Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code in cases of serious threats to public policy or internal security, marks a growing departure from the bloc’s foundational principle of passport-free travel. Initially envisioned as temporary and exceptional, these measures are now increasingly being used as semi-permanent fixtures, with countries citing persistent and evolving threats ranging from irregular migration to terrorism.

The European Commission has previously urged member states to maintain proportionality and to explore alternative security measures before reintroducing physical border checks. However, the wave of national-level actions, now led by Germany, indicates a significant recalibration in the balance between EU-wide integration and sovereign border governance.

Germany has joined Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Bulgaria in launching new Schengen border controls to combat rising irregular migration and reinforce national security. The move follows Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s push to reject undocumented entries and tighten asylum policies across all land borders.

As public discourse shifts and geopolitical tensions rise, more Schengen states may follow Germany’s lead, deepening the fragmentation of what was once Europe’s most visible symbol of unity. The move places pressure on EU institutions to reassess the long-term viability of open borders in a context where security and migration concerns increasingly drive policymaking.

Germany’s alignment with Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Bulgaria represents not just a tactical change in border control—but a political signal that the Schengen model itself is being redefined under the weight of modern challenges.