Schengen

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement, the conference '40 Years of Schengen: People, Borders, Politics”, jointly organised by EMN Luxembourg and the UniGR-Center for Border Studies, of-fered a timely opportunity to celebrate European integration and critically analyse the evolving realities of border governance. Focusing on the free movement of people in border regions, particularly in the SaarLorLux area, the conference examined the socio-economic interdependencies, legal and political challenges that have arisen from the reintroduction of internal border controls. Panels and roundtable reflected on the shifting dynamics at the internal and external margins of the Schengen area, where migration, security discourse and geopolitical crises are reconfigured the Schengen spirit. Participants called for a renewed commitment to the core values of solidarity, trust, and shared sovereignty, emphasising that the future of Schengen requires political will and citizen engagement. The conference reaffirmed Schengen as a lived reality and a symbol of European freedom, as well as a strategic asset in times of uncertainty.

Schengen countries are increasingly relying on the Schengen Borders Code to make internal borders less permeable. This Working Paper focuses on the ongoing reintroduction of temporary internal border controls within the EU between 2015 and 2024, as well as the justifications provided by Schengen countries for these measures. The analysis identifies four phases, reflecting a gradual displacement of the Schengen spirit—established 40 years ago—by a prevailing border spirit. While open borders and free movement remain guiding principles of the European Union, national border regimes are gaining ground and are continuously being adapted to fluctuating threat perceptions. Migration, terrorism, public health, and hybrid threats serve as discursive resources to legitimize a Schengen reality that can no longer be regarded as exceptional, but rather as part of a normalized, security-oriented European order. This trajectory is characterized by a re-nationalization of border policy within the EU, an ever-expanding rhetoric of crisis, political instrumentalization, and an ambivalent mode of EU border governance.