SNAPSHOTS

New Polish Border Controls Bring Europe's Schengen Area Back Into Question

Jul 8, 2025 | 17:07 GMT

A newly installed sign pointing to Schengen transfer flights is pictured next to EU and Romanian flags on March 31, 2024.
A newly installed sign pointing to Schengen transfer flights is pictured next to EU and Romanian flags at the Bucharest airport on March 31, 2024.

(DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)

Driven by national anxieties connected to immigration, the increasing use and duration of internal border controls within Europe's passport-free Schengen area will entrench unpredictability for businesses and travelers, strain economic integration and undermine the long-term stability of the agreement's free-movement principles. On July 7, Poland introduced controls on its borders with Germany and Lithuania to prevent the arrival of irregular migrants. According to the Polish government, the decision is a response to Germany's policy of sending back to Poland irregular migrants who enter the country allegedly from Poland, as well as to prevent the arrival of irregular migrants from Belarus who reach Poland through Lithuania....

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