Gorizia: a reminder of what's at stake with Germany's EU border checks
The German government's decision to reimpose passport checks at all of its internal EU borders risks re-erecting the walls which took so long for Schengen to tear down.
I’ve been at the Italian-Slovenian border over the past days, where the neighboring cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica are preparing to jointly be the European Capital of Culture for 2025. Until 1947, these two were one city - first within Austria, and then within Italy after World War I. But the post-war treaty between Italy and Yugoslavia forced Rome to give up their Dalmatian, Istrian and Venezia Giulia territories, and it was decided to split Gorizia in two. A wall was erected through the city, and the Eastern section was renamed “Nova Gorica” by the Yugoslavs.
Berlin wasn’t the only city divided in two by the Iron Curtain. The “Gorizia Wall”, as it came to be called, also became a hotspot for people trying to escape Communist rule. Even after Italy-Yugoslav relations thawed after the Soviet-Yugoslav split, this was a severe border. The city’s northern train station ended up just on the Yugoslav side of the wall, and the southern station ended up on the Italian side. Even after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the Gorizia Wall remained in place for another two decades - until Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004.
The reason, of course, is that while the fall of Communism in East Germany resulted in West Germany absorbing the state, that didn’t happen elsewhere. National borders remained where they were, and the cities and towns that had been divided by the redrawn post-WW2 borders remained divided. But when the EU’s Eastern countries joined the passport-free Schengen area in 2007, several towns split in two by the post-war settlement were reunited including Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, Görlitz and Gorizia. The wall that ran through Transalpina Square in front of Nova Gorica train station was dismantled, and for the first time in 60 years people could freely walk across the square.
This is thanks to the EU’s Schengen Code, which makes the internal borders of the union passport-free, the same as crossing between two US states. But this didn’t come easily. Schengen has been under continual threat since it was established, because national governments are always tempted to reimpose checks as quick-fix border theatre to make citizens think they’re doing something to address migration or terrorism. Unlike in the US, where it is constitutionally forbidden to iinhibit free movement between states, EU member states can impose ‘temporary’ checks in response to emergencies, for no longer than six months. But while the code does contain strict interdictions against setting up any permanent buildings or systemic checks at the borders during these temporary reintroductions, it is very vague on why and how long they can be set up. This has resulted in many countries just renewing the supposedly ‘temporary’ checks every six months. There are about a dozen Schengen exemptions currently registered with the Commission, which has not taken any action to crack down on member states’ frivolous use of the exemption clause.
But Germany’s recent decision to impose checks on all nine of its internal Schengen borders has gone further than any country has before. The untargeted nature of the blanket reimposition, which clearly came as a panicked response to recent far-right wins in state elections in Eastern Germany rather than in response to a specific emergency or security threat, sets a dangerous precedent. And given Germany’s central location in the EU, there are fears of a domino effect that would see more and more countries introducing checks, feeling that if they don’t their citizens will blame them for not responding to illegal immigration. Before long, the EU could find Schengen existing in name only, with border checks at internal borders across the union. It’s a question of trust. Just like in the US threats or illegal crossings are supposed to be detected at the EU’s external borders. In the US, those borders are managed by the federal government. But in the EU, they’re managed by the border states. And the problem, when things like this happen, is that Germans don’t trust border states like Italy and Greece.
But though citizens may have an instinct to support this ‘taking back control’ of border management, they are probably not thinking through the full implications. This isn’t just a question of inconveniencing travellers. These border checks set up both practical and psychological barriers for border communities like Gorizia. Not only does it become practically more difficult for Slovenes to visit their Italian nieghbors and vice versa, but the people on the other side of the border start looking more and more foreign again. Separating people with walls and ID card checks has a deep psychological impact on communities. And then of course there is the most practical concern. The reason for creating Schengen and dismantling these border checks wasn’t just to foster EU unity. It’s also because they block interstate commerce, causing long lines at borders that delay goods and services from getting where they need to go. Citizens may think, ‘I don’t mind waiting in order to drive across a border in order to be more secure’, but they aren’t thinking about the further implications. Border checks have an economic impact as well.
The reality of what this would mean was already seen during the Covid pandemic. Because EU member states were refusing to allow people to cross borders, temporary fences had to be erected. This happened in Gorizia, where Transalpina Square (since renamed Europe Square by the Slovenians) was once again divided - and became a focus for protests of people objecting to the interruption to EU free movement. You can see a photo of that time above. Other towns which straddle borders, such as Menen-Halluin and Baarle-Hertog-Nassau in Belgium, also had fencing erected splitting them in two. The closures were uncoordinated and chaotic, which is why earlier this year the Commission proposed updates to the Schengen code to make such health-related closures more planned. The border closures during Covid caused severe supply chain disruptions within the EU.
The German government has been quick to point out that six other EU countries, including France, also have temporary reimposition of border controls in place. In fact, Italy has also registered an exemption for its border with Slovenia (though there were no passport controls being carried out when I was there). But as usual, Germany wants to pretend it’s a small country of no consequence to anyone instead of the behemoth at the center of the EU that it is. It’s one thing for Sweden to start conducting ad-hoc passport controls on the Øresund Bridge. It’s another for Germany to suddenly start checking passports at nine national borders at the center of the EU. The risk is that, by inches, everyone follows suit. And if the Commission doesn’t take a stand, before long there are systematic checks and permanent infrastructure at these borders - including walls and fences. And just like that, Gorizia will be once again divided.
As I walked around Gorizia and Nova Gorica, I could see that both cities are excited to show the world how much things have changed since 2007. Europe Square is closed at the moment for refurbishment, ready to open by 1 January to show off the EU’s only transnational square. The 1,000-year-old Gorizia Castle sitting atop the hill, visible from both the Italian and Slovenian sides, is being restored with an upgraded museum inside. As I saw all the hard work that’s going into this, I thought about what a tragedy it would be if this was all for nothing. What if, within just a few years, the wall goes back up and the city is once more divided. The time of the two cities jointly being European Capital of Culture could seem like just a strange dream by then.
And we would have Germany to thank for that division.