Fun fact: for about a year, the only Schengen country that was doing structural border control checks against the mandate.... was Germany. Many a person felt prosecuted, for crossing a non-existing border. I've been lined up, interrogated, sniffed, searched, you name it, all for some hypothetical "security" that really was about re-asserting an authority that was treatied away.

So I don't know what all this is but there's a load of self-elevating German pride in there that should maybe be ignored. Because they're all fucking liars.

For example: I'm quite sure that the "open border" vision came from the Benelux, not Germany. Germany was 2 countries with strict separation during the 29 years the former union was having a freedom of movement treaty. The whole Benelux thing was envisioned in 1944 London, by governments in exile from the German occupation, of all things.

So fuck these guys. They all lie, meddle, manipulate and conspire... to stay in power. The best we can do is ignore them and harden our lives to depend less.