A total of 49 Luxembourg nationals have been refused entry to Germany since mid-September when German police initiated controls at all land borders.
The figures provided by the Home Affairs Minister, Léon Gloden, have sparked concerns among authorities in Luxembourg, who said that the issue will be discussed at a plenary session on Thursday, Schengen.News reports.
The opposition party in Luxembourg, the Greens, called for the committee meeting to discuss the issue, requiring more clarity on the government’s position on the matter, and get additional information on whether the controls go against the Schengen Borders Code or if they are in line with EU law.
At the same time, the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, said that the Schengen Agreement is coming to its 40th anniversary, and some countries were in danger of destroying Schengen.
Neighbouring Countries’ Border Controls Affecting Luxembourg
While several European Union countries have reintroduced border controls to deal with irregular migration, including Luxembourg’s neighbouring countries, Germany and France, Luxembourg hasn’t followed their path.
In a bid to enhance the country’s security and prevent irregular entries and terrorist attacks, among others, Germany and France informed the EU Commission regarding the decision to maintain their border controls effective until at least the first quarter of 2025.
Germany began controls at all its land borders on September 16, 2024, while France extended its border controls with its neighbouring countries, including Luxembourg, from November 1 of this year.
However, some travel experts have considered such a measure to bring additional difficulties, particularly for cross-border commuters, and would also lead to long queues.
In addition, the Europe-wide political party Volt Europa carried out a protest on November 2 against the implementation of frontier checks by Luxembourg’s neighbouring countries, France and Germany.
Luxembourg’s PM: Border Controls Ineffective
Last month, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden, said that the reintroduction of border controls by Germany and France was not a good idea.
The Prime Minister of Luxembourg said that border controls do not solve the problem of irregular migration.
However, authorities in Germany have claimed the measure to be very effective, especially in combating irregular migration.
In addition, the Deputy federal chairman of the Federal Police Union, Manuel Ostermann, said that in the first five days since the new changes were implemented, almost 900 irregular entries were detected.
Source: https://schengen.news/49-luxembourgers-denied-entry-to-germany-since-border-controls-implementation/
