Overcoming Borders Instead of Creating New Ones: Young Europeans Hike for an Open Schengen Area

The German Alpine Club Youth and the Young European Federalists from Austria, Switzerland and Germany joined forces for a cross-border “Border Hike”, sending a clear message against the normalisation of controls at Europe’s internal borders.

Bavaria/Tyrol, 10 September 2026 – With a joint “Border Hike” along the German-Austrian border on Sunday, 6 September, young Europeans sent a clear message in support of freedom of movement and against the increasing normalisation of controls at the internal borders of the Schengen Area.

The hike was organised as part of the European “Don’t Touch My Schengen” campaign by the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe and JEF Bavaria), together with the German Alpine Club Youth (JDAV) and partners from Austria. Participants hiked through the German-Austrian border region, crossing the border several times – a border that, in a properly functioning Schengen Area, should barely be noticeable in everyday life.

Yet this very European achievement is coming under increasing pressure. For years, Member States have repeatedly resorted to controls at Europe’s internal borders. Measures originally intended only as temporary exceptions are gradually at risk of becoming the political norm.

“For our generation, crossing a European border without being checked has become something we take for granted. That is precisely why we sometimes underestimate what an enormous political achievement the Schengen Area actually is,” explains Simon Langebrake, Acting Federal Youth Leader of the JDAV.

The Border Hike was part of a three-day exchange from 5 to 7 September at the DAV-Haus Hammer in the Bavarian Alps. In addition to the joint hike, participants discussed the history of freedom of movement in Europe, current developments in the Schengen Area and the importance of open borders for European integration. One thing is clear: security and migration are shared European challenges and require common European responses. The permanent reintroduction of national border controls within the Schengen Area cannot be a substitute for functioning European solutions.

“The policies of the German Federal Government are offering us false solutions. The border in the Alps makes visible just how absurd it is to believe that Europe’s challenges can be solved along national lines. Our lives have long been cross-border. We therefore need more common European solutions that protect our freedom of movement,” says Moritz Hergl, President of JEF Europe.

The European Commission has also spoken out against unilateral measures, several of which have already been found unlawful by courts in individual cases. The European Commission supports the “gradual phasing out and lifting of internal border controls.”

Through its #DontTouchMySchengen campaign, JEF Europe is campaigning across Europe against the permanent normalisation of internal border controls. The Young European Federalists call on European governments to protect Schengen as one of the central achievements of European integration and to return to a normally functioning Schengen Area without systematic controls at internal borders.

Learn more about our campaign:

About JDAV

The German Alpine Club Youth (Jugend des Deutschen Alpenvereins – JDAV) is the youth organisation of the German Alpine Club (DAV) and represents the interests of young people within the association. It combines shared experiences in the mountains with youth work, education and civic engagement. Among other priorities, JDAV promotes sustainability, diversity, democracy and solidarity.

About JEF Europe

The Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) are a transpartisan political youth organisation advocating for a democratic, federal and united Europe. With more than 10,000 activists and over 250 local and regional sections across 36 countries, JEF brings together young people from across Europe to advocate for European democracy, freedom of movement, the rule of law and a European Union capable of acting effectively.

Press Contact

Moritz Hergl – JEF Europe
Rue des Deux Églises 14
Brussels, Belgium
moritz.hergl@jef.eu | +49 157 33919942
www.jef.eu