Measures to prevent the reintroduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass

Subject: Measures to prevent the reintroduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass

In 2017 Austria reintroduced official controls at its internal borders because of the refugee crisis, which caused numerous reactions from other Member States which took the view that this action is a clear sign of crossing the line in terms of freedom of movement.

Moreover, Chancellor Kurz now intends to reintroduce border controls at the Brenner Pass. The Brenner Pass is Europe’s busiest north-south trade route, located on Austria’s southern border with Italy. Last year, a record 2.25 million trucks travelled along the Alpine crossing linking North Tyrol in Austria with South Tyrol in Italy.

Experts say that introducing border controls directly affects the trade route across the region. In addition, corporate lobbies on both sides of the Brenner Pass have repeatedly warned in recent years against the reintroduction of border controls in the area, a measure which slows cross-border traffic to a crawl.

Taking these facts into consideration, what steps does the Commission plan to take in order to maintain the balance between migration policy and cross-border commerce?

What concrete measures would the Commission recommend in order to secure the EU’s borders while at the same time respecting the Schengen agreement?

Answer given by Mr Avramopoulos on behalf of the European Commission (19 October 2018)

Member States may temporarily reintroduce border controls as a last resort when faced with a serious threat to their public policy or internal security. The scope and duration of such a measure are limited in time and should be restricted to the bare minimum needed to respond to the threat in question.

Austria notified the Commission in June 2018 that it would reintroduce internal border controls at the Brenner Pass for 4 days (9 to 13 July 2018) due to the informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Innsbruck on 12 and 13 July 2018. The Commission is not aware of any other intended reintroduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass.

The Commission closely monitors each case of reintroduction of internal border controls, verifies its proportionality and stays in permanent contact with the concerned Member States to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible, inter alia, to the free movement of people and cross-border trade.

A crucial element to strengthen the EU’s common borders and to preserve the Schengen area is the regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) (1) adopted in September 2016. It significantly enhanced the mandate of the EU's border agency but more efforts are needed.

To address certain gaps in the functioning of the Agency, e.g. shortages of staff and equipment for its operations, the Commission adopted on 12 September 2018 a new proposal on the EBCG as a priority file aiming to reach an agreement before the next European Parliament elections.

⋅1∙ Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 on the European Border and Coast Guard and amending

Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 863/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 and Council Decision 2005/267/EC, OJ L 251, 16.9.2016, p. 1.