Schengen Still Standing: Internal Borders, Integration, and COVID-19

Abstract

In early 2020, widespread reintroductions of internal border controls were taken by member states across the Schengen Area in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This had perilous consequences for the European economy, which was nearly ground to a halt by these restrictions. This paper investigates the impacts this crisis has had on integration with regards to Schengen. It argues that this crisis has driven member states to deepen integration, as the economic benefits of Schengen are too important to abandon. This paper also highlights how ad hoc improvisation was essential to ensuring that the Schengen Area was able to get back on its feet during this crisis. These crisis proven improvised measures have since been adopted into ongoing reforms to Schengen governance, which seeks to build an agreement better equipped to handle future challenges.