Letter to the European Commission – danish-german border controls

Open Letter

To the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen

To the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany

To the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark

 

On behalf of the Members of the European Parliament

Rasmus Andresen

Delara Burkhardt

Niclas Herbst

 

 

Your excellencies,

the Schengen agreement is one of the greatest european achievements. It is a symbol of
trust between european countries and a sign of trust to our citizens to move freely within the
Schengen area by refraining from internal border controls.

Therefore, we appreciate the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, manifesting that
internal borders can only be installed in exceptional circumstances and need sound
reasoning to be acceptable. During the allowed period of six months, the neighboring
countries should strengthen their cooperation and find a solution to the threat other than
border controls. After 6 months, controls can only be re-installed if another serious threat
comes up, a threat different from the previous one.

At the danish-german border european citizens are being controlled continuously since
2016. For six years, citizens travelling from Germany to Denmark have been denied their
right given in the Schengen agreement. We cannot accept this injustice any longer.
After this ruling, the EU Commission must examine the justifications for exceptions more
critically. We call on the Commission to consult with the danish government to no longer
accept further extensions. We call on the danish and german government to strengthen
cooperation and find other solutions to possible threats.

The current extension of Denmark’s border controls is valid until 11 May 2022. Free
movement should be made possible again from the 12th of May onwards.

 

Kind regards,

Rasmus Andresen

Delara Burkhardt

Niclas Herbst