European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner has called on Germany to terminate its comprehensive border controls, warning that temporary measures must remain genuinely time-limited. Since May 2025, Berlin has maintained intensified inspections across all nine land borders with neighboring states, a policy Brunner characterizes as fundamentally incompatible with the European project’s core achievements.
“These are temporary provisions available to member states, which Germany is now utilizing,” the Austrian People’s Party politician told Politico’s Berlin Playbook podcast Thursday. “And temporary means precisely that time bound.”
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union ordered the enhanced controls and systematic rejections on May 7, citing security imperatives. Yet Brunner insists such internal restrictions undermine the Schengen Agreement, which he describes as “among the European Union’s greatest accomplishments.”
The commissioner emphasized that swiftly implementing the new European asylum system, known as GEAS, remains paramount. “External borders must be better protected so that internal border controls become unnecessary,” he argued, linking domestic security concerns to collective European responsibility.
Brunner also advocated for accelerated deportations to Syria, noting that the EU’s asylum agency has determined conditions there have improved substantially. While Brussels prioritizes voluntary repatriation, the commissioner demanded stricter enforcement for certain categories.
“Particularly regarding criminals and individuals presenting security risks to Europe, we must proceed with greater rigor,” Brunner declared. His remarks reflect mounting tensions between national sovereignty prerogatives and supranational integration principles, a friction point that continues defining contemporary European politics as migration pressures persist and member states navigate competing domestic and continental obligations.
