A landmark judgment handed down by the Dresden Administrative Court late on 12 November has cast serious doubt on the future of the police controls that Germany has maintained on its frontiers with the Czech Republic and Poland since October 2023. The court upheld two separate lawsuits brought by travellers who were stopped and questioned while crossing the Görlitz–Zgorzelec and Breitenau/Krásný Les crossings. In a detailed written opinion the judges found that the German interior ministry had failed to meet the strict proportionality test laid down in the Schengen Borders Code for re-introducing checks at an internal EU border. According to the ruling, the ministry did not adequately demonstrate an immediate and serious threat to public order that could not be addressed by less intrusive measures. Although the verdict concerns only the individual controls challenged by the plaintiffs, lawyers say the reasoning applies to the entire regime of spot checks now in place along the 817-kilometre frontier line. The Federal Police carry out mobile patrols, inspect buses and stop private cars—procedures that have lengthened journey times and created uncertainty for cross-border commuters and Czech companies whose trucks supply factories in Saxony and Brandenburg. The German interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has already announced that the checks will stay in place at least until mid-March 2027, citing irregular migration and people-smuggling networks. Prague reacted cautiously. The Czech Ministry of the Interior said it respected Germany’s right to appeal but reiterated that the free movement of goods and people is a “core economic interest” for Czechia. Nearly 39 000 Czech residents commute to jobs in Bavaria and Saxony, and Germany is the republic’s largest export market. Business groups such as the Czech-German Chamber of Commerce complained that lorry queues at the Petrovice/Bahrendorf crossing already cost manufacturers millions of koruna in idle time; the court’s decision could strengthen their calls for compensation if the controls continue. For mobility managers the immediate takeaway is that paperwork alone will not speed up the border: employers should continue to brief travelling staff to carry identity documents, work contracts and—if driving—proof of cargo, until Berlin decides whether to suspend the regime or file an appeal. While the ruling does not automatically lift the checkpoints, it increases the legal and political pressure on Germany to seek less disruptive alternatives such as intelligence-led policing away from the border strip.
Source: iDNES.cz
