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Austria pushes EU to make it easier to extend border checks

Austrian ministers said on Thursday that they want to change the rules governing Europe's passport-free Schengen zone so they can extend border controls that expire later this year.

Published: 4 May 2017 15:39 CEST

Austria pushes EU to make it easier to extend border checks

Austrian police stand on a slope near the Brenner border as "No border" activists clash with Italian police on May 7th 2016. Photo: AFP

The comments came after Brussels on Tuesday said that checks introduced at the height of the 2015 migrant crisis by Austria and four other countries must end by November.

“If the European Commission is now saying that another extension of the national border controls beyond November is not possible because of legal reasons, then we need jointly to adapt the law to ensure that additional controls are necessary,” Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil told the Austria Press Agency.

“If border controls are necessary because the number of illegal migrants rises again then we shouldn't hide behind bureaucratic rules but make border controls possible,” Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz added on Oe1 public radio.

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and non-EU Norway introduced the checks in 2015 and have extended them several times. But Brussels said a six-month extension from mid-May must be the final one.

Sweden said on Tuesday it was suspending systematic checks on its border with Denmark.

A migrant deal between the European Union and Turkey has dramatically slowed the influx, although tens of thousands of people have attempted the treacherous sea journey between Libya and Italy so far this year.

Doskozil said that 9,700 migrants have entered Austria this year, 6,600 of them applying for asylum.

IN DETAIL: What are the rules on travel into Denmark from within the EU?

Package tourists leaving Copenhagen on their way to Mallorca. Photo: Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix

What’s the most recent change in the regulatory framework?

Denmark on May 14th relaxed the rules for travel from all EU countries so that travellers from these countries no longer need “a worthy purpose” to travel to Denmark unless their country has a high-enough infection rate to be classed as “red” in Denmark’s traffic light system.

This has opened the way for tourism from the EU, and also from the entire Schengen zone, which also includes Switzerland, Andorra, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino and Vatican City.

Under the May 14th update, travellers coming from European Union or Schengen countries or regions classed as “yellow” no longer have to show a negative coronavirus test before boarding the plane, and no longer need to go into self-isolation on arrival in Denmark.

Those who aren’t Danish citizens or residents, however are required to show a recent negative test, taken no more than 48 hours before boarding their plane, before entering Denmark.

At Copenhagen Airport, there’s a centre before passport control where you can get a rapid test, so if you are willing to risk a return flight, you can wait until arrival before getting tested. In practice, it is probably safer to get a test before you go.

Travellers coming from European Union or Schengen countries or regions classed as “orange” do, however, need to get a test before boarding the aircraft, and also need to go into self-isolation for at least four days, until they test negative for coronavirus, or for ten days without a test.

Here is the latest table from the Danish authority’s Coronasmitte website on the travel guidelines for EU and Schengen countries.

Which EU or Schengen countries or regions are classed as “yellow” by Denmark?

Denmark on Saturday June 5th moved Italy, Germany, Austria and Slovakia from the “orange” classification to “yellow”, meaning Danish citizens are no longer advised against leisure travel to these countries, and also that tourists from these countries no longer need to get tested before boarding their flight, or go into isolation on arrival in Denmark.

These countries are currently classed as “yellow” in Denmark.

Austria	Czech Republic	Slovakia	Finland
Bulgaria	Germany	Hungary	Iceland
Italy	Malta	Poland	Portugal
Romania

Denmark also on June 5th added six new European regions to its list of countries classified as “yellow”, the Peloponnese in Greece, Jadranska Hrvatska in Croatia, Zug and Ticino in Switzerland, and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Here are the European regions currently classified as “yellow”:

Croatia: Jadranska Hrvatska
France: Corse, Martinique, Mayotte

Greece: Peloponnisos

Norway: Rogaland, Møre og Romsdal, Norland, Viken, Vestland

Spain: Galicia, Principado de Asturias, Cantabria, Extremadura, Comunitat Valenciana, Illes Balears, Región de Murcia, Canarias

Switzerland: Zug,Ticino

Which regions in the EU or Schengen are currently classified as “red”?

None.

How are the rules different for travellers from the EU/Schengen who are fully vaccinated or immune?

Travellers from the EU and Schengen regions who are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency, or who can document that they have been infected with Covid-19 and recovered in the last 14 to 180 days can forgo most of the restrictions that remain (unless their country is rated “red”).

Even if their country is rated as “orange”, they still do not need to show a recent negative coronavirus test before boarding their aircraft, get tested on arrival, isolate on arrival, or take a test prior to entering Denmark.

Here is the latest table from the Danish authority’s Coronasmitte website giving the travel guidelines for vaccinated or immune travellers from EU and Schengen countries.

What are the requirements if you are travelling by land or sea?

Travellers coming to Denmark by road, train or ferry need to be able to show a negative test result not more than 48 hours old before entering the country. Unlike with flights, however, even if the country of departure is ranked “orange” (as Norway or Sweden are) they do not need to show a negative test before boarding the ship, train or bus.

What are the rules on travel for residents of border regions?

Foreigners with permanent residence in regions bordering Denmark, such Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, and Blekinge, Skåne, Halland and Västra Götaland in Sweden do not need a “worthy purpose” to travel into Denmark, even if their country is classified as “red”. They can only show a negative test that is up to 72 hours old, rather than 48 hours for other travellers.

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