Swiss Justice Minister Concerned Over Growing Internal Border Checks Within Schengen Area

Swiss Justice Minister, Beat Jans, has expressed his concerns related to the increasing number of internal border controls introduced within the Schengen Zone.

His comments came in a meeting held with the European Union Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Magnus Brunner, Schengen.News reports.

According to the Swissinfo report, Jans and Brunner discussed the functioning of the Schengen Area.

From January 1, 2025, the borderless area of Schengen was expanded to include Romania and Bulgaria as well.

On the other hand, the EU commissioner highlighted the importance of effective protection at external borders of the EU’s Schengen Area, stressing that it necessitates cooperation.

Switzerland’s Parliament Supports Tightened Border Controls
In contrast to Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans who expressed concerns regarding the reintroduction of border controls, earlier this month, the Swiss upper house of parliament supported a motion to impose stricter controls with the neighbouring Schengen Zone countries.

The motion was supported on March 13, 2025, among calls that Switzerland should also consider border measures introduced by other countries in the EU’s visa-free travel zone.

At present, several Schengen Zone countries have implemented border controls at their internal borders, among them: Germany, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Denmark, France, and Sweden.

Supporting Migration & Asylum Pact
Swiss Justice Minister, Beat Jans, highlighted the importance of the European Union’s migration and asylum pact.

Jans stressed that the pact is a milestone and an opportunity to make migration management through Europe more sustainable and efficient.

The European Union countries approved the Pact on Migration and Asylum on May 14, 2024. The main purpose of this pact is to distribute migrants as well as asylum seekers among the EU countries, however, several governments have objected to this pact.

While Hungary and the Netherlands have opposed the pact, recently, Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said that his country will not sign the pact.

The migration issue is among the most discussed topics of the EU countries, and among the main reasons for the reintroduction of border controls by several Schengen Zone countries.

Source: https://schengen.news/swiss-justice-minister-concerned-over-growing-internal-border-checks-within-schengen-area/