Schengen in Luxembourg represents one of the EU’s greatest achievements. The reintroduction of border controls has caused intense dissatisfaction among residents, as Deutsche Welle reports.
Jim Krier is not at all happy about the temporary reintroduction of border controls at Germany. “It’s crazy,” says Luxemburgo. In June 1985, when the agreement on a Europe without borders was signed, Krier was a member of the Schengen municipal council. “The positive steps that have been taken are being undone. This is very, very serious,” says the 73-year-old.
Michel Golden is the mayor of the iconic city of Luxembourg, whose name represents one of the EU’s greatest achievements: a border-free travel zone. “Of course we don’t agree with border controls,” he says. “We have so many people moving between the two countries every day, as well as local trade between Luxembourg and Germany. And the controls will affect everything,” he explains.
Today, the Schengen zone comprises 29 countries and around 420 million people. The 52-year-old hopes that the checks will affect people’s daily lives as little as possible. During the last checks, during the European Championships in Germany, there were frequent traffic jams for miles. “People work all day in Luxembourg and when they return home to Germany in the evening, they wait an hour in traffic.” More than 50,000 Germans work in Luxembourg.
Review by Jean-Claude Juncker
“I don’t like border controls because they cause enormous problems for people crossing the borders,” said former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. “If controls are to be carried out, then they should be mobile and not at fixed points, and they should not be carried out at the border but more inland,” Luxembourg added. “The fact that European integration is so easily put on the table worries me greatly.” We must not “allow borders to be created again in the minds and hearts of citizens,” the former Commission President stressed.
Problem for thousands of people
“When we hear about border controls, we automatically think of the situation during the pandemic,” says Ralf Uhlenbruch, mayor of Perl, a community in Saarland on the opposite bank of the Moselle. To limit the spread of the coronavirus in 2020, Germany closed several border crossings with France and Luxembourg. Something like this should never happen again, Uhlenbruch emphasizes.
Every day, thousands of workers commute from Pearl to Luxembourg to work. Many children from France and Luxembourg attend schools located in Pearl, while many more people cross the border just to shop or get gas.
From October 2023, checks will be carried out in Germany at specific points on the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Such checks have already been carried out on the border between Germany and Austria since 2015. The new checks will also affect the borders with Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The Schengen area is not in danger
Other Schengen countries are also deciding to reintroduce border controls. Mayor Gloden, however, does not see the Schengen area as being in danger. “People recognise that this achievement makes life in Europe much easier.” People from all over the world come to Schengen. “There is only one village more famous than Schengen – and that is Belém,” says the mayor. People who come from Africa say: “You have no idea how lucky you are! This way you can just cross the border.”
Source: Deutsche Welle
