“Slovenia can no longer accept this,” the capital Ljubljana recently said of Austria’s repeatedly extended border controls. Countermeasures have already been threatened. Now Brussels has also taken up the dispute and started a “formal consultation process” with all EU countries involved. They say they are willing to take legal action.
In the Schengen area, which includes 27 European countries, there are actually no stationary identity checks at the borders. In the course of the refugee movement in 2015, several countries, including Austria, introduced temporary checks to be renewed every six months. Due to continued “migration pressure”, Austria is insisting on maintaining controls at the Slovenian border.
“The reintroduction of border controls should remain an exception, strictly limited in time and a last resort,” the European Commission said. She calls for the “gradual abolition” of checks and their replacement with “alternative police cooperation measures”. The notice does not reveal what “legal remedies” are available to the EU authority.
Austria has proven no threat
However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has already ruled on border controls. The latter ruled in April 2022 that an EU country in the Schengen area may introduce border controls for a maximum of six months in the event of a serious threat to public order or internal security. After that, proof of a new serious threat is needed. Austria appears to have failed to prove this since 2017, the verdict said.
With regard to border controls, the Commission has called on EU countries to extend the Schengen area to include Bulgaria and Romania. As you know, Austria and the Netherlands blocked the admission of these two countries last year.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
