Italian MEP Anna Maria Cisint (Patriots for Europe) has challenged the European Commission over its recommendation to phase out internal border checks at the Italian-Slovenian frontier, arguing the move is illogical given persistent failures to secure the EU's external borders. In a parliamentary question submitted on 3 June 2026, Cisint warns that lifting checks would undermine national efforts to combat migrant trafficking along the Balkan Route, which remains a major corridor for irregular migration and a security concern for the border regions of Italy, Austria, and Slovenia.
Cisint's question targets the Commission's recent stance that Schengen states should end all internal border checks, a position she says contradicts the new Schengen Borders Code. She notes that Italy reintroduced checks at the Slovenian border in 2023 in response to a major influx of migrants along the Balkan Route. The MEP asks two specific questions: whether the Commission considers it illogical to ask Italy to give up an effective control instrument while the Union remains incapable of fully securing its external borders, and what further measures the Commission could take to combat new illegal migration flows and criminal organisations operating along the Balkan route.
The question reflects a cleavage between national sovereignty in border security and EU-level integration goals, with Cisint advocating for maintaining national control measures. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its answer will signal whether it prioritises Schengen free movement or accommodates member states' security concerns. The issue impacts EU border agencies, national authorities in Italy, Slovenia, and Austria, migrants and trafficking networks, and EU citizens concerned about security and migration flows.