Tightening borders: a temporary and insufficient measure

Plusieurs Etats européens ont décidé de renforcer les contrôles aux frontières en vue d’événements ayant lieu sur le Vieux Continent cet été. Cependant, il semble nécessaire d’adopter une approche durable pour la lutte contre le terrorisme au-delà de l’été.... and borders.

This summer, Europe will be in the spotlight. Particularly Germany and France, which are hosting the European Football Championships and the Olympic Games in succession. Both countries have already announced that border controls will be stepped up in preparation for these events.

In mid-June, Switzerland will host a peace conference on the Russian-Ukrainian war. Following in the footsteps of the Franco-German couple, the Swiss Confederation has also declared that it will be stepping up customs controls from June to September. The terrorist threat linked to these three events is cited as justification for these new directives. This decision, taken by Socialist Federal Councillor Beat Jans, is the first of its kind since Switzerland joined the Schengen area in 2008, as underlined by Le Temps, This marks a break with the policy applied to date.

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However, these measures are primarily designed to reassure the public and encourage them to take part in events. And they reveal a tacit admission: for the rest of the time, free movement also applies to terrorists and other criminals. The Schengen area, so long adulated, is now exposing some of its limitations.

More than a recourse - temporary - at the borders, it's a return - sustainable borders. And this requirement is itself insufficient. Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has been observing a steady increase in illegal entries for several years, with an increase of 17% in 2023 compared to 2022. Provisional figures for 2024 validate this trend. What's more, many of the terrorists who took action on European soil had already been living in the country for several years. Some were even born here. There's no shortage of examples: Merah, Coulibaly, the Kouachi brothers, the three Bataclan attackers, and even more recently the young Afghan who killed a policeman in Mannheim.

The terrorist threat comes from within and without. In reality, the summer of festivities and sports announced in Europe is also the summer of danger. Let's hope that, once the summer is over, governments will make border control and the fight against terrorism real long-term priorities.

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