Border controls between EU countries hit hauliers

According to the European Commission’s current notifications, at least ten Schengen countries — including Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Norway — currently maintain some form of internal border control.

Germany’s controls are among the most extensive, covering crossings with France, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic, and currently authorised until March 2026. France has extended its own until April 2026, citing persistent jihadist threats and rising antisemitic violence. Denmark and Sweden justify theirs with concerns over Russian sabotage and cross-border gang crime, while Poland and Slovenia refer to hybrid threats and pressure from the Belarusian border.

Even the Netherlands, traditionally an advocate of open borders, has reinstated limited checks at land and air frontiers until December 2025, citing a surge in asylum applications and smuggling activity.

Data emerging from both Berlin and The Hague reveals the mounting financial and logistical toll of the extended measures, which German authorities have already decided to maintain well into 2026.

The Netherlands, one of Germany’s most important trading partners, has faced rising operational expenses simply to manage the resulting congestion. Reporting by Dutch newspaper AD, based on figures confirmed by Rijkswaterstaat (the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management), shows that traffic-management measures on the Dutch side have already cost more than €8 million over roughly the past year.

These measures include the installation of holding lanes, temporary signage, and additional supervision to keep roads safe and maintain access for emergency services — particularly at the chronically congested A12/A3 border crossing.

According to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, operations by the Federal Police along all of Germany’s land borders incurred total costs of €80.5 million between mid-September 2024 and 30 June 2025.

Industry estimates suggest that every hour a truck stands idle costs a business €75–€100. Rijkswaterstaat estimates that average delays range between 15 and 30 minutes per trip. For drivers crossing the A12 into Germany daily, AD calculated the cumulative effect as roughly 730 kilometres of traffic jams per year — the equivalent of 91 to 182 hours of waiting time.