Lower Thirds: 

0:02		Report by | Lucia Schulten
0:00 - 0:15	Source: European Union, 2025
1:00		Stefan Döhn | Spokesperson Federal Police Trier
1:54		 Alberto Neidhardt | Migration expert at the European Policy Centre
2:19		Ursula von der Leyen | EU Commission President | May 9, 2025
2:38		Alberto Neidhardt | Migration expert at the European Policy Centre
2:58		Source: European Union, 2025

(( info: The Schengen agreement turned 40 this weekend. It’s a cornerstone of European Union policy, allowing the free movement of citizens and goods. But with many member states now re-imposing temporary border checks as part of immigration controls, can Schengen survive? DW’s Lucia Schulten reports.))
 
Script: 

Insert 0:00 -0:15  : FILE|Source: European Union, 2025 

The freedom to travel through a Europe without borders - the Schengen agreement was meant as another step towards unity. It dissolved borders with the aim of increasing political stability and economic prosperity. 

But 40 years later, Schengen is at a crossroads. 

+++Graphic in+++ 

The Schengen zone consists of nearly all EU member states, as well as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. Once inside the zone, people can travel freely.  

More and more countries have introduced temporary border controls – many of them citing irregular migration, overburdened systems or terrorism as the reason.  

+++Graphic out+++ 

Germany introduced temporary border checks on all of its nine land borders last year, like here on the border to Luxembourg.  
 
And in May, the new conservative-led government took the controversial decision to turn back most asylum seekers at the border.  

+++Stefan Döhn+++Spokesperson Federal Police Trier  

Since September, we’ve registered around 1100 unauthorized entries. Of those, 700 people were sent back to Luxembourg. And since May, we’ve turned back five asylum seekers. 

((Wir haben in der Zeit seit 16.09 knapp 1100, oder knapp 1100 unerlaubte Einreisen gehabt. Davon sind 700 Leute nach Luxemburg zurückgewiesen worden. Darunter waren fünf Asylsuchende [Cut] Die fünf seit 7.05 )) 

For some of the people who cross the Germany-Luxembourg border daily, the checks have added around 20 minutes to their commute.  

People have mixed feelings about the measures. 

+++Voxpop1+++Female+++German  

On the one hand I understand it, but it means we’re basically closing the border again.   

((Auf der einen Seite verstehe ich es, aber auf der anderen Seite ist es halt man schließt wieder die Grenzen mehr oder weniger.)) 

Reporter:  And what do you think about that?  

((Und das finden sie?)) 

It’s not that great.  

((Nicht so toll.))  

Voxpop2+++Male+++German 

I don’t like losing ten minutes, but it all makes sense.  

((Ich finde es schlecht zehn Minuten zu verlieren, aber es hat alles seinen Sinn.)) 

+++Voxpop3+++Male+++English+++ 

It looks like it is a bit against the European spirit. Because normally you shouldn’t have any fixed, you know, control like this one, right. 

Migration expert Alberto Neidhardt says the border checks are back for one main reason.  

+++Alberto Neidhardt+++Migration expert at the European Policy Centre+++ 

The reasons, however, are mostly political in the sense that European governments are trying to send a message to their electorates that they are dealing with irregular movements within the Schengen area.  

While controversial among member states, they are allowed under Schengen rules under certain conditions: 

+++Ursula von der Leyen+++EU Commission President+++Insert Date 9. May 2025  

As things stand member states can introduce border controls at their internal borders, this has to be within the framework of the internal rules that abide to that topic and it has to be time limited.  

But, experts say, they challenge the EU’s core values. 

+++Alberto Neidhardt+++Migration expert at the European Policy Centre+++ 

Once border checks are established within the Schengen area, this has symbolic meaning, because it evidently constitutes not only an obstacle to free movement within the area, but also it symbolizes how fragile unity among member states is.  
+++
Insert 2:57:3:10 - : Source @European Union, 2025 
With pressure over security and migration, 40 years on, the policy of open borders within the EU is facing its toughest challenge. 

END