Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has spoken out against Germany’s upcoming tightening of border controls, warning of inconvenience to commuters and the potential threat to European integration.
On Monday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser ordered temporary controls at all German land borders to limit unauthorized entries and thus contain migration.
The checks, which will expand an existing system to all German border crossings, will begin on Monday and will initially last six months.
Speaking to dpa in his native Luxembourg, Juncker said he was not in favour of border controls because they were uncomfortable for commuters.
Germany is a member of the Schengen area, which allows some 420 million people to travel freely across 29 European countries without border checks. But checks are already in place at some of Germany’s nine borders, including with Austria and Poland, and are being extended to Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark on Monday.
Juncker said remote mobile checks at the borders would be less disruptive, especially for the more than 50,000 German commuters who cross the border into Luxembourg every day.
Juncker acknowledged the need for temporary border controls during major events, such as Germany’s 2024 European Football Championship, but he questioned the need for long-term controls in response to migration and illegal entry.
He was concerned that these actions could undermine the Schengen area’s core principle of open borders.
Juncker was President of the Executive of the European Union from 2014 to 2019.
