Spain sent troops and additional police to Ceuta after officials estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 people entered from Morocco. Dozens died during the crossing, while Brussels offered operational and financial support.
ACI Europe, Airlines for Europe and IATA have written to Ursula von der Leyen demanding "immediate intervention" on the EU's Entry/Exit System, warning of five-hour passport queues and planes leaving half-empty as 40 million extra passengers arrive for the summer peak. The Commission insists the impact is "limited" at most airports but has called an urgent meeting. At Luxembourg's Findel airport, travellers are advised to reach passport control 90 minutes before departure.
Schengen is a small wine village on the Moselle where Luxembourg, France and Germany meet. There, on 14 June 1985, five countries signed the Schengen Agreement aboard the boat MS Princesse Marie-Astrid, chosen because it sat at the tripoint of three nations. Today the Schengen Area lets people cross some 29 European countries without border checks. Visitors can tour the European Museum Schengen, board the original boat and see the star-topped columns by the river.
The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational on 10 April 2026, replacing passport stamps with biometric records at Schengen's external borders. Its companion, ETIAS - a €20 travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors - is expected in late 2026. Here is what changes, and how to apply without falling for copycat websites.
A German court ruled that a suspicion-free identity check on a Saarland law professor returning from Luxembourg was unlawful, finding Berlin's internal border controls insufficiently justified under Schengen rules. Two days later, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt lifted fixed checks on the Luxembourg frontier, easing months of delays for 50,000 daily commuters — while denying the verdict drove the decision and vowing to appeal.
Luxembourg travellers and visitors face new Schengen border rules in 2026: the Entry/Exit System is fully operational and ETIAS changes pre-travel checks for visa-exempt non-EU nationals.
Berlin has reauthorised internal Schengen controls on all nine of its land borders, including Luxembourg, until 15 September 2026 — citing migration and security pressures even as routine stationary checkpoints come down.