Law Enforcement Halts Illegitimate Crossings by Multitudes at the Border - Law enforcement officials halt multiple attempts of unlawful border crossings
The Schengen Area, a union of around 30 European countries, is experiencing significant changes in its border control policies. While maintaining the principle of border-free internal movement, temporary internal checks remain widespread for security reasons.
On May 7, 2025, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) instructed the Federal Police to turn back asylum seekers at the border if they had already been registered in a safe third country. This measure was not applied at the border of Lower Saxony with the Netherlands. However, since the reintroduction of the temporary border controls, 975 people have been turned back at the German-Dutch border.
The Schengen Area has common rules for external borders, visas, and police cooperation. The current rules and recent developments include ongoing temporary internal border checks, the introduction of a new digital Entry/Exit System (EES) for non-EU nationals, and intensified measures against unauthorized entries, including the apprehension of smugglers and extremists.
Several Schengen countries continue to operate temporary internal border checks beyond usual rules that prohibit such controls within the Schengen Area. These measures are justified as national security responses and have been extended into late 2025 or early 2026 in various countries, including Germany (until March 2026), Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, and Sweden (through September-December 2025). During these controls, border guards may demand identification and conduct detailed checks at internal borders, impacting usual free movement.
Starting 12 October 2025, the Schengen Area will implement the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) to register biometric data (fingerprints and facial image) and travel data of all non-EU short-stay travelers at external borders, replacing manual passport stamping. The system will be fully operational by 10 April 2026 and will enable digital tracking of entries and exits to enforce the 90-day limit within any 180-day period. Overstays will be recorded, potentially leading to detention, removal, fines, or future travel bans. EES aims to improve border security, facilitate risk analysis, and reduce irregular stays by centralizing biometric data and entry-exit records.
Enhanced border surveillance, more robust border checks, and coordination have increased the detection and apprehension of smugglers and extremist suspects trying to move across or into the Schengen Area illegally. Between mid-September 2024 and late July 2025, officers identified 59 suspected smugglers and 399 individuals with outstanding arrest warrants at the German-Dutch border. During this period, there were 1,516 unauthorized entries and attempted entries into Lower Saxony registered, resulting in 212 turnbacks, 14 arrests of suspected smugglers, and 99 arrests due to outstanding arrest warrants. In 29 cases, officers identified a match in the left-wing, right-wing, and foreign extremist or Islamist spectrum.
The 2025 State of Schengen report by the European Commission highlights strengthened cooperation among Schengen countries, resulting in a significant reduction of irregular border crossings at external borders in 2024. There has also been a notable increase in returns of third-country nationals without legal stay.
Travelers should expect more thorough checks and biometric registrations at borders, with increased enforcement against irregular migration and related criminal activity. The upcoming EES digital system marks a major development in tracking and controlling entries and exits, targeting unauthorized stays more effectively. Cooperation and intelligence sharing are increasingly emphasized to detect and prevent smuggling and extremist threats at the external borders.
- The recent changes in the Schengen Area's border control policies, such as the implementation of temporary internal checks and the introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), could be categorized as 'general-news' and 'politics,' given their impact on immigration, security, and EU laws.
- The ongoing temporary internal border checks in Schengen countries and the rejection of asylum seekers, as demonstrated in Germany, Netherlands, and other nations, fall under the topic of 'crime-and-justice' due to their implications for border control, security, and migration.
