Greek passengers and aircrafts have been subjected to increased internal border controls and inspections at German airports, bypassing Schengen procedures, reports said Thursday.
According to obtained information, German authorities introduced stricter controls on November 12, citing security concerns and 'risk of illegal migration', and as part of the new controls, passengers from Greece have been inspected in "special" check areas in airports, treated as non-Schengen travelers.
Greeks have expressed that they felt "humiliated" by the hours-long security checks, and urge Germany to end this discriminating practice.
Annegret Korff, spokesperson for the German Ministry of the Interior, explained that the controls in airports were imposed for security reasons as sample checks had revealed that about 1,000 people who had arrived in Germany this year had done so with fake passports or without proper travel documents, and sent back to Greece.
Korff stated that although they were trying to make these controls as fast as possible, airspace requirements also needed to be taken into account.
An EU Commission official on Tuesday said a three-party meeting between EU experts and representatives from Greece and Germany would examine the reason for the intra-Schengen checks for passengers arriving at German airports from Greek destinations.
According to the Schengen Agreement, citizens of signatory countries can move freely between those states without being subject to border controls.
