Time to reform Schengen "temporary" internal controls

A number of member states have been operating "temporary" internal Schengen border controls for over a decade without a break, often with dubious justification based on very general and non-specific "emergency" circumstances. This has not only led to long queues of traffic at Schengen internal borders, lost revenues for cross-border businesses due to border waits and delays to rail and ferry journeys, it has undermined public confidence in a Europe of open borders and led to speculation about whether the return of permanent intra-European borders is somehow "inevitable". 

Border controls are clearly being used more as a political tool than in response to genuine emergency circumstances in some countries. It is way past time that this seemingly endless "emergency" was addressed through a re-examination of the temporary border control system, with time limits placed on closures and substantial daily fines for non-compliance.

Many Europeans see the ability to travel and work freely across national borders as a fundamental part of the right to mobility. It is time to find a resolution to this problem that guarantees citizens that their right to travel within the Union will be as undisturbed as possible without preventing member states from being able to respond to genuine short term circumstances.