Controls at national land, sea and air borders return for almost two weeks. The reason is the next G7, the leaders’ summit which will take place in Puglia, in the municipality of Fasano, from 13 to 15 June.
The suspension of freedom of movement
The temporary suspension of the freedom of movement regime within the Schengen area is provided for by the application of articles 25 and 27 of EU regulation 2016/399 of 9 March 2016 and is usually implemented on the occasion of similar events.
In this case, the checks will begin in advance of the start date of the G7 work: from 2pm today, 5 June, until 2pm on 18 June, as announced by the Interior Ministry.
How the Schengen area works
Started in 1985 as an intergovernmental project between five European Union countries – France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – the Schengen area has expanded to become the largest free movement zone in the world.
Today this has over 4 million square kilometers, a population of almost 420 million people and includes 29 countries, including 25 of the 27 Member States of the European Union and all members of the European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
In which cases was the agreement suspended
In addition to the G8 in 2009 and the G20 in 2020, the Schengen convention was recently suspended by Italy also during the Covid pandemic, between 2020 and 2022, and due to the increase in migratory flows from October 2023, when border controls with Slovenia were reintroduced.
