After more than two decades of passport-free travel within Europe, the European Union is preparing to invoke emergency border controls for at least two years.
The flood of refugees—in particular, Greece’s inability to control its borders—and recent terrorist attacks in the region have been threatening to end the policy of “borderless travel” between EU members.
According to the AP, such a provision would allow countries that have already implemented emergency border checks (including Germany, France, Denmark, and Norway) to continue without violating the Schengen Border Code (the agreement between EU countries to allow citizens and travelers the right of free movement without checks between internal borders).
While leisure travelers are not being targeted, they can certainly feel the ripple effect of the new ID checks. Long lines at highway checkpoints, delayed flights, and canceled trains are a few repercussions.
For now, passport-free travel isn’t dead. But it’s likely it will be suspended for at least two years—if not longer.
