Temporary border controls in Denmark

Subject: Temporary border controls in Denmark

The Danish Government has extended temporary border controls by six months, with effect from 12 November 2022, until May 2023, by which time they will have been in place for more than seven years. Chapter II of the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016), regarding the temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders, states inter alia the following: ‘The scope and duration of the temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders shall not exceed what is strictly necessary to respond to the serious threat.’ It is also stressed that temporary border controls at one or more of the internal borders of a Member State are a ‘last resort’.

1. What is the Commission’s assessment of the threats on which Denmark’s temporary border controls are based?

2. Does the Commission consider that, after almost seven years, controls at Denmark’s borders are genuinely temporary?

3. How long do temporary border controls have to be in place before the Commission will regard them as permanent?

Answer given by Ms Johansson on behalf of the European Commission

(12 December 2022)

1. On 14 October 2022, Denmark notified the Commission of its decision to reintroduce internal border controls on grounds of terrorist and organised crime threats, and risk of secondary movements particularly along the Balkan route. Commission services are currently assessing the notification and the proportionality and necessity of the reintroduced border controls.

2. The Schengen Borders Code (1) provides that the reintroduction of internal border controls shall remain a temporary measure of last resort to adequately remedy a threat to public policy or internal security. In particular, Article 25(4) establishes that Member States may not maintain border control for the same grounds beyond a maximum period of six months. This interpretation has been confirmed by the Court of Justice (Joined Cases C-368/20 and C-369/20) (2). However, the six-month time limit does not prevent Member States from introducing or continuing border controls based on a new (different) serious threat.

3. The Commission is committed to restoring a fully functioning area without internal border controls. The proposed amendments to the Schengen Borders Code comprise specific measures intended to address the persistent reintroduction of internal border controls. The Commission urges the European Parliament to adopt its mandate so trilateral negotiations can start shortly. Also, the Commission is engaged in close dialogue with Member States maintaining border controls as well as Member States impacted by these to develop a roadmap to swiftly move away from internal border controls.

⋅1∙ Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across

borders (Schengen Borders Code), OJ L 77, 23.3.2016, p. 1. See: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0399 ⋅2∙ Jugement of 26 April 2022, NW v Landespolizeidirektion Steiermarkand and Bezirkshauptmannschaft Leibnitz (Durée maximale du contrôle aux frontières

intérieures), Joined Cases C-368/20 and C-369/20, not published, EU:C:2022 :298.