TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG “Leading article” edition from Tuesday, October 10, 2023, by Marco Witting: “The limits of imagination”

2023-10-09 22:00:09

Innsbruck (OTS) – European migration policy still cannot think of much more than border controls. Police officers with guns in the heart of the EU are undermining the idea of the Schengen area – and are only good as a placebo.

A grim look. A casual hand gesture. Waved through again. Anyone who often crosses the border with Bavaria near Kufstein/Kiefersfelden will eventually get used to the sight of border controls again – even if their abolition was once celebrated as a great achievement of a united Europe. Germany has been controlling Austria for ages. Austria, like the Czech Republic and Poland, has been controlling the border with Slovenia and, for a few days now, the border with Slovakia. The random checks are scheduled for a few more days. Renewal? Probably not out of the question.
Border controls are of course legally possible in the Schengen area. And that’s just as well. Public order and internal security must be protected. But because Europe can’t think of anything and no minimal consensus on migration policy seems possible, controls remain the only instrument that every nation state is always happy to resort to. The controls in this form are neither legal nor effective in the long term – they are just a readily prescribed placebo.
It’s all about appearances. The reason is that border controls are mentioned every day in traffic radio and this subjectively conveys to the (voting) people that we are closely monitoring who crosses the border. The fact that a few kilometers further, away from the main connecting routes, anyone could cross the border uncontrolled is often ignored. Not to mention the green border or those who get through anyway. Likewise, really rigid controls in a country would only lead to a cascade effect. In other words: the problem is passed on to the neighboring country.
The idea of a Europe without borders – it was shelved at some point in 2015. Since then, we have always heard that a European solution is needed for the external borders. That the challenges of accepting refugees can only be overcome together. That solidarity is needed when accepting refugees. Or that they want to take tougher action against organized smuggling. The 46 people who were recently found crammed into a box van in Burgenland speak symbolically against this.
Europe needs a solution to the migration issue. The limits of the imagination must not continue to end at the next limit bar that can be pulled down.