Germany confirmed its border checks with neighbouring countries will continue at a meeting of EU ministers on Thursday, drawing criticism from Luxembourg for undermining Schengen's ideals.

At a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers on Thursday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reiterated that Germany would extend border checks with its neighbouring countries for another six months.

Luxembourg has expressed opposition to these checks, with Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden criticising them as contrary to the spirit of the Schengen Agreement, particularly as the historic treaty marks its 40th anniversary.

The German government, however, has justified the measures, citing the high number of asylum applications in the country. German authorities stated that the checks would only be lifted once asylum numbers decrease, and the European migration pact is fully implemented. Among other things, the pact aims to ensure a fairer distribution of asylum seekers across EU member states.

EU member states were theoretically expected to submit national strategies for the implementation of the migration pact by Thursday. However, according to the usually well-informed news outlet euractiv, several countries are likely to request extensions.

Negotiated with significant effort in the spring of 2023, the migration pact is not expected to come into effect until 2026.