About two thirds of Europe's “open” Schengen borders are now patrolled by guards, analysis by The National reveals.
More than two dozen land borders snaking 11,300km across the map of Europe are subject to “temporary” controls, meant to combat everything from illegal migration and smuggling to terrorism and the fallout from the war in Gaza.
Checks began around Germany on Monday in a particularly symbolic blow to the Schengen ideal, as the country once split by the Iron Curtain put its hard-won open borders on hold amid voter anger over asylum and extremism.
Visitors with Schengen visas who are told they can travel freely around Europe will find guards asking for passports at road crossings, train stations, bridges and ferry ports. In one three-month period, more than 450,000 people were stopped at borders, between Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland.
Even at Schengen's longest border, the 1,666km frontier stretching through fjords and mountains between Norway and Sweden, there are spot checks on migration and cars can be searched for drugs and weapons. Sweden has rolled over “temporary” checks every six months since 2015.
Near the Luxembourg village of Schengen, where five countries signed the original agreement in 1985, campaigners staged a symbolic walk across three borders in May to champion free movement. One of them, Daniel Silva, “reminded everyone how lucky we were, because we take this for granted”, he told The National.
“Borders are for us a thing of the past and should never be closed again,” said Mr Silva, a member of federalist pan-EU party Volt. “We go shopping in Germany, we often travel to Belgium for example just to go to Ikea because it’s the only one around. We cross the borders daily.”
Checks widen
Today, Schengen has 27 full members, not including Romania and Bulgaria, where free movement is limited to air and sea routes. They share 40 internal land borders stretching 17,501km across the European mainland.
Eight countries including Germany, France and Italy currently have formally notified the EU of six-month “temporary controls”. These amount to checks on 25 frontiers and 11,318km of border, or 65 per cent of the total length.
A variety of reasons were given to EU officials. Austria cited the “security implications following the Hamas attack on Israel”, and a rise in anti-Semitism. Italy spoke of a terrorist risk “connected to the turmoil in the Middle East”. Denmark mentioned desecrations of the Quran that may have made it a target for extremists.
Germany's new checks are justified by “security risks related to irregular migration”, as a wave of asylum claims “exacerbates an already tense accommodation situation”. Others have cited the Olympics, Russian espionage and threats from cyber fraud, arms smuggling and criminal gangs.
EU figures suggest thousands of people will be asked for their papers under Germany's new checks. Between October and December last year, when Berlin was only monitoring its southern and eastern flank, 311,000 people were inspected at the Czech border along with 142,000 entering from Poland.
Limited crossing points between France and Spain led to “considerably longer travel times and delays at the border”, according to EU officials. Croatia reported traffic congestion after Slovenia brought in checks during a holiday period.
Sweden inspected 128,000 people in five months at its land border, of whom 279 were denied entry and six arrested over alleged smuggling. At Norway's ferry ports, more than 34,000 passengers were “physically checked” last year.
Internal and external
In Brussels, the Schengen zone is seen as “one of the crown jewels of European integration”, as EU migration tsar Margaritis Schinas said in April. Abandoned Cold War border posts have become a fascination for urban explorers. The EU said the kind of checks ordered by Germany must be “necessary and proportionate” and “should remain strictly exceptional”.
Germany's checks have also rankled with neighbours such as Poland. Hungary's nationalist government, which has been chided by Berlin in the past for its take-no-prisoners stance on migration, declared on its website: “We told you so.”
About 8.5 million non-EU citizens were issued with Schengen visas last year, according to the commission's figures. There are 1.7 million who live in one Schengen country and work in another, and the borders are crossed 3.5 million times a day.
The Schengen Borders Code was revised in May in an attempt to curb the kind of every-country-for-itself rule making that sprang up during the Covid-19 pandemic. It says countries should consider alternatives to border checks and not roll over “temporary” rules for more than two years.
Yet governments across Europe are under intense pressure to get a grip on migration. More than a million people claimed asylum in an EU country last year, the first time that threshold was passed since 2016. About one in four were from Syria or Afghanistan.
Germany's new checks emerged from a political firestorm over migration. On August 23, a Syrian who was due for deportation to Bulgaria was arrested over a deadly knife attack that killed three people. A week later, Germany's far right scored its most significant election win since 1945.
Having publicly warned last year that the Schengen zone was “in danger” without a long-awaited EU asylum overhaul, Germany has now decided it cannot wait for the deal eventually struck in Brussels.
But it does not take effect until 2026, Hungary has said it will not implement it and there are fears it will lead to human rights violations. Policies such as this are about “taking the problems outside of the eyesight of the Europeans”, Mr Silva said.
Germany's move “goes against the core principles of the European Union”, he said. “Not so long ago we were condemning Hungary under the direction of Viktor Orban for doing this. Now Germany is doing it, so this totally undermines the European spirit.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections
6.30pm: Final Song
7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo
7.40pm: Dubai Icon
8.15pm: Dubai Legacy
8.50pm: Drafted
9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
Fighter profiles
Gabrieli Pessanha (Brazil)
Reigning Abu Dhabi World Pro champion in the 95kg division, virtually unbeatable in her weight class. Known for her pressure game but also dangerous with her back on the mat.
Nathiely de Jesus, 23, (Brazil)
Two-time World Pro champion renowned for her aggressive game. She is tall and most feared by her opponents for both her triangles and arm-bar attacks.
Thamara Ferreira, 24, (Brazil)
Since her brown belt days, Ferreira has been dominating the 70kg, in both the World Pro and the Grand Slams. With a very aggressive game.
Samantha Cook, 32, (Britain)
One of the biggest talents coming out of Europe in recent times. She is known for a highly technical game and bringing her A game to the table as always.
Kendall Reusing, 22, (USA)
Another young gun ready to explode in the big leagues. The Californian resident is a powerhouse in the -95kg division. Her duels with Pessanha have been highlights in the Grand Slams.
Martina Gramenius, 32, (Sweden)
Already a two-time Grand Slam champion in the current season. Gramenius won golds in the 70kg, in both in Moscow and Tokyo, to earn a spot in the inaugural Queen of Mats.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
