Everything shows that immigration will be a serious concern for European leaders in the coming years Brussels summit. The “27” did not have time to co-sign the new Pact on Migration, which recently the vice-president of the Commission Margaritis Schinas, speaking to Deutsche Welle, had described as a “historic decision” and tensions are increasing.

Since mid-September, Germany has introduced systematic controls at all the country’s land borders for six months, in the first phase, with the aim of combating irregular immigration. Neighboring countries are reacting, some are talking about “closing the borders” or even “the end of the Schengen Zone”. Christian Democrats (CDU) MEP Lena DuPont does not share this criticism.

“Both the older Schengen Borders Code and the new Code in force from the previous parliamentary term provide for the right to reintroduce border controls for a limited period, if there are specific reasons, which are also explicitly stated,” the German MEP tells Deutsche Welle. “The issue is – and we see it in the debate taking place today within the EU – that the Schengen Area is under pressure. The member states must implement what they have agreed.”

“Don’t let them learn about it from the newspapers”

OR Lena Dupont considers that, while there is essentially no question of a breach of Schengen rules, Berlin’s communication handling of the issue was incorrect. “As we saw in the previous ‘Schengen crisis’ in pandemic times, it is very important to have cooperation and communication between the member states,” he points out. “Neighboring countries cannot learn from the newspapers that Germany will reintroduce border controls or extend the controls that already exist. This cannot be allowed to happen.”

The co-chairman of the European Left has a different opinion Martin Sirdevan. Responding to Deutsche Welle’s question whether the border controls are consistent with those in force in the Schengen Zone, the German MEP states: “Clearly not. What the federal government is doing by reinstating controls is leading to a de facto abolition of Schengen. We are already seeing that there are reactions from other governments. I think that the end of Schengen, the end of the free movement of persons, would be a real disaster and would have consequences. Not only for supplying the market, but also for the daily movements of citizens”.

“Sham” or “half” self-exclusion?

The climate of the days is further burdened by the initiative of two member states to request an “opt-out” from the common immigration policy. As for example, Denmark had previously secured, with the consent of the other member states, its self-exclusion from the euro. The start was made by the new government of the Netherlands, which is now led by Geert Wilders’ far-right “Party for Freedom” (PVV). It was followed by Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, which even holds the rotating presidency of the Council for the second half of 2024.

The comment of Martin Sirdevan from the German Left Party (Die Linke): “If I am not mistaken in Hungary all 36 asylum applications were submitted in 2023. Asking to ‘opt out’ of immigration policy seems pretentious to me under these conditions. The real reason is that in both Hungary and the Netherlands extreme right-wing governments have come to power, inciting one minority against another.”

However, Lena Dupont believes that, at least in the case of the Netherlands, the request for self-exclusion is a tactical maneuver. “If you read the Dutch government’s letter carefully, you will see that they are actually talking about half an ‘opt-out’,” says the German politician. “They would like the opt-out, but they know that in this case they will have to leave completely because there is no other option, so in the next paragraph they say that ‘if nothing else’ they want at least the fastest implementation of the Pact on Migration. It is rather a politics of symbolism rather than substance.”