Dear Colleagues,
Do we have anyone here who's knowledgeable about EU law and the
Schengen Area? I have a question that I haven't been able to find a
good answer to anywhere.
This is not about the coronavirus pandemic, which I understand is a
different issue, but about the six countries that had already been
maintaining border controls since related to migration and terrorism
since 2016.
I am trying to wrap my head around the legal basis of Germany,
Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway's extension of "temporary
reintroduction of border control" declarations past the original
2-year deadline in November 2017.
My understanding is that at that point they began justifying the
controls under the same rationale that France had already set a
precedent for with its many extensions, but I don't understand the
legal rationale for France's extensions either. I have seen
references to them switching from Article 29 provisions to Article
25 provisions, but when I read the Schengen Borders Code, I can't
find anything in Article 25 that I can manage to interpret as
allowing unlimited extensions.
I understand that there's an argument that what these five countries
and France have been doing is indeed illegal, but I want to also
understand what their own lawyers' argument might be for its
legality.
Many, many thanks in advance for any thoughts!
Best regards,