France has promised to limit new border controls with Luxembourg set to begin on 1 November and last until the end of April, Interior Minister Léon Gloden told Luxembourg’s parliament this week.
France’s recent announcement that it will inspect travellers at its borders with neighbouring Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium follows a similar announcement by Germany in September.
Luxembourg, and its thousands of cross-border workers who live in France, worried the checks could cause long delays and frustration. Prime Minister Luc Frieden spoke to his French and German counterparts and reported a more sympathetic ear from France’s Emmanuel Macron than Germany’s Olaf Scholz.
Since then, Gloden also has spoken to his French counterpart and received assurance that checks will be ad hoc, restricted to secondary roads behind the border, and will not affect the A31 motorway connecting the two countries.
“In Luxembourg, we are against controls at the internal borders of Europe, though we believe controls at the external borders must be strengthened,” Gloden said during questions in the Chambre des Députés on Tuesday.
Also read:France to introduce border checks with Luxembourg
Both France and Germany point out that the Schengen treaty opening the EU’s internal frontiers allows for limited and temporary border checks for ongoing threats including to public safety, order, and internal security.
Germany previously imposed border checks during this summer’s Euro 2024 football tournament, causing severe disruption at the beginning, before agreeing to move its efforts further into German territory and accelerate procedures. France imposed checks during the Summer Olympics, but disruption was generally minimal, Gloden noted.
Also read:Checks reinstated at German-Luxembourg border
Source link : https://www.luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/french-assurances-on-checks-relieve-border-communities/23854505.html
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Publish date : 2024-10-24 21:56:00
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