Though the top EU court recently ruled that Germany, Denmark and other Schengen states have no legal basis for extending border checks reimposed in 2015, the European Commission is not initiating infringement procedures.

According to the Schengen Agreement, people and goods may freely cross the borders of the 26 signatory countries without any checks or requirements. Internal border controls within the Schengen Area can only be reintroduced as a last resort in response to serious threats to domestic security.

Citing concerns about migration and/or terrorism, however, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and France have kept border controls in place continuously since displaced people began arriving to Europe in increased numbers in 2015. The countries have just prolonged the checks for another six months.

That's the second extension since the European Court of Justice ruled in April that temporary reintroductions of border controls may not last longer than six months per announced threat.

A DW analysis from 2019 had also found that these border controls violate the terms of the Schengen Agreement, which is considered a binding law for the 22 EU countries who have signed on, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.