Do you believe in “Free Movement”? Rejoiners do, but the EU27 don’t any more

Disintegration of EU’s flagship Schengen ‘open borders’ zone proves nations need borders

Part of the enduring and entirely false Rejoiner narrative involves a rose-tinted impression of a wonderfully liberated, open borders bloc, where people can move around freely, crossing internal borders without passports.

This has not been true for years and has become far worse since Angela Merkel’s unilateral declaration of “All welcome here” to migrants in 2015. I TODAY exposes the hypocrisy of the EU’s insistence on a “laws-based” approach for the United Kingdom, while its member countries have consistently broken EU law with impunity.

Specifically, I show how the EU’s precious Schengen Zone has been fractured and dysfunctional for years, and the reality of the situation today.

This contrasts with the EU’s obsession over the Northern Ireland border.

Here is how the EU presents the Schengen Zone.

Which countries are in the EU’s Schengen Zone?

Ireland is now the only country to have an opt-out, which it gained by virtue of the United Kingdom opting out. Of the remaining 26 member states, 24 are full Schengen members, with Bulgaria and Romania being legally obliged to join the area when the EU says they can. Croatia joined on 01 Jan 2023 and Cyprus joined just three weeks ago, on 25 July. In addition, the four EFTA states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland also participate in Schengen.

The Schengen code is a fundamental part of one of the EU’s “Four Freedoms”, as it involves free movement.

The French were the first to break the Schengen Zone

It may not surprise readers to learn that France was the first country to break the Schengen Zone. In 2006 they closed the land border with Spain as a result of Basque youth protests in South-West France.

This event is included in the EU Commission’s official list of “Member States’ notifications of the temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders”.

368 official breakages of the EU’s Schengen Zone in the last 17 years

The official list now contains 368 notifications, most of which concern numerous borders between EU member countries.

If the imposition of border controls listed each border separately, the number would easily be in four figures. For example, France under one single ‘notification’ issued in May, now has no open borders with any of its six neighbours in the Schengen zone: Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. Macron’s government gives its reasons as :

“New terrorist threats, increasing risk of terrorist organisations present on national territory targeting the Rugby World Cup taking place in September and October 2023, increase in irregular entry flows at the external borders (from the Central Mediterranean and the Western Balkans)”.

It is important to note that these border controls are not only physical, they often include flights or boats entering from all EU member countries. When looking at the EU’s official list it is also important to note something of direct relevance to the United Kingdom in its ongoing battles with the EU Commission.

Breaking the EU’s Schengen law first, then getting legal permission after the event

I can reveal that many instances of border controls going up across the EU were only reported to the EU Commission later. In other words, these countries broke the Schengen rules first and then obtained a legal dispensation after the law had been broken. Worse still, these legal dispensations could only be for a period of 3–6 months. In many cases, these have been extended again and again by the countries involved.

Despite this, the EU continues to maintain its fantasy of being a “rules-based organisation” and it applies this bogus principle rigorously in every aspect of its dealings with the United Kingdom. Naturally, this hypocrisy applies across a wide range of EU laws as I have reported many times before, on numerous topics.

[Source: EU Commission, Sun 13 Aug 2023]

The disintegration of the EU’s flagship Schengen zone proves nations need borders

The EU’s idealistic Schengen rules have been destroyed by reality. The effects of uncontrolled mass migration initially caused by Angela Merkel’s government in 2015, and the increased threat from terrorists now resident in the EU, have made Schengen virtually unworkable. When the EU refers to ‘border controls’ being extended, it means that the borders in question have had to revert to being normal, hard, international borders and that Schengen has failed.

The number of borders where Schengen rules have been suspended is now so long that the idea of travelling seamlessly from one country to another within the EU is a thing of the past. Free movement across the EU has ceased to exist.

When the EU claims to be a ‘rules-based organisation’ it clearly isn’t. When the EU tells the UK it must obey the rules, why should it? No one else does.

Sources: EU Commission