“In the 1980s, we had to get off the bus and they checked all our passports,” said one Belgian citizen. “We’re not going back to that time, are we?”
Germany’s decision to introduce controls at each of its nine land borders for the next six months has irked those who frequently cross them.
The measures announced on Monday will apply from 16 September until 15 March 2025 at the borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Considering that the Austrian border has been subject to controls since May, the frontiers with Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic since June, and the French border since July, the country is practically back to the era of border controls in Europe.
It’s worth noting that Germany’s not the only one to have done this: in 2024 alone, 10 countries in the open-border Schengen zone reintroduced controls at some of their borders, for reasons such as fighting terrorism and controlling irregular immigration.
The control procedures could especially inconvenience those who live close to the borders and often travel between countries, such as the inhabitants of Eupen — the regional capital of the German-speaking Belgian east, a few kilometres from the border.
Many go shopping in Germany for cheaper goods and bigger selections, but that might be put on hold for now.
German efficiency or a step back in time?
“If it becomes a problem for me to go shopping, then I don’t agree with this measure,” Andreas, a German citizen who has lived in Belgium for 20 years and is married to a local woman, told Euronews.
“I think freedom of movement is important because we are in the border area and every country needs to import and export something from abroad,” he said. “And I think it is important to be able to go back and forth.”
Lorry drivers crossing the border seem resigned to losing a few extra minutes to possible controls. Some of them, after all, are already accustomed to checks at other borders, which have been in place for several months: especially those who travel between eastern European countries or from the UK, who after Brexit are often forced to show their cargo.
Paul, a driver from Yorkshire in northern England, does not seem too bothered, considering the efficiency and speed of the German police.
“After Brexit we saw how the Germans are quite good at checking: sometimes less than 15 minutes,” he said. “Once the bureaucracy is sorted out, you can leave again.”
He often crosses the German border, coming from Belgium or the Netherlands, and even though the checks are a hassle for drivers, he thinks the German government is right in introducing the measures to try and control immigration.
“Six months ago while my truck was parked, some migrants managed to get in and hide,” Paul told Euronews. “They travelled without my knowledge to the border, and then when I stopped, they cut the cover with a knife and jumped out.”
However, the return of controls is especially annoying for those who lived through the pre-Schengen era and remember the long procedures at European borders.
Marijke Van Caekenberghe, a Flemish woman, travels to Germany with her daughter to visit cities not far from the border.
ADVERTISEMENT“When I was studying, we went to visit Berlin and I saw the division between the two parts of the city,” she said. “And now, when I heard the news, I thought: ‘I hope we don’t go back to that time’, because it was really impressive.”
“In the 1980s, we had to get off the bus and they checked all our passports, checked the bus and our luggage. I thought: ‘We’re not going back to that time, are we?’,” she said. “Germany is in the Schengen area: why do they have to check everything now?”
