Norway, France reintroduce internal borders due to coronavirus outbreak
Several European countries have reintroduced temporary internal border controls and extended the restriction due to coronavirus concerns, terrorist attacks and secondary movements, the European Commission has said.
Current border controls imposed by individual countries to stop the spread of the coronavirus include Norway, whose measure will remain in effect until October 7, and France, which was introduced from May 1 to October 31. These measures imposed by Norway and France apply to all countries. their internal borders, reports SchengenVisaInfo.com.
What’s more, Denmark announced border control due to the risk of coronavirus on May 12, and the measure remains valid until November 11. However, border controls at all internal borders should soon be abolished.
Although the reintroduction of border control for travel should be the last alternative to be applied, the Schengen Borders Code (SBS) allows member states to reintroduce the measure in order to minimize threats to public order or internal security.
“If necessary, the reintroduction of border control can be extended for renewable periods of up to 30 days”, EU press release notes, also revealing that the measure cannot be imposed for more than six months.
On the other hand, other countries extending their internal borders for reasons different from COVID-19 are as follows:
NorwayBorder control is valid until November 9 and was introduced due to terrorist threats and secondary movements on May 10. The measure is applied to ports with ferry connections to Denmark, Germany and Sweden.
Furthermore, Austria imposed the measure on May 12, which targets secondary movements, the risks associated with terrorists and organized crime, the situation at the external borders and the land borders with Hungary and Slovenia. The measure will remain in effect until November 11.
Germany also extended the restriction at the internal borders until 11 November due to secondary movements and the situation at the external borders. The restriction initially introduced on May 12 will apply to the land border with Austria.
Denmark and Sweden will also extend their internal border controls until November 11 due to terrorist threats, applying to all internal borders. However, Denmark has raised concerns about threats from organized crime, while Sweden wants to prevent illegalities at its external borders.
from France the restriction on internal borders will be extended until 31 October and is increased due to constant terrorist threats and secondary movements.
SchengenVisaInfo.com previously reported on internal borders introduced in February 2021, with Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway. According to this change which was valid until the end of February or the beginning of March, the majority of countries imposed the measure due to terrorist threats, secondary movements and concerns related to organized crime.
In addition, during a plenary meeting of the European Parliament, MEPs voted to end border control imposed by countries with 505 votes in favor, 143 against and 54 abstentions.
“Noting that some internal border controls have been in place since 2015, MEPs believe that these controls no longer meet the criteria of proportionality and necessity and are therefore illegal. Where appropriate, the Commission should also initiate infringement proceedings», States the press release issued by the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
The decision was harshly criticized during a meeting of the Committee where the latter demanded that a proposal from the European Commission to reform the management of the Schengen area, in particular with regard to the pandemic, be put forward.