Are we waking the dead again?
Originally Posted by
jamespvg
I really don't understand why (if?) they have the right to perform these kinds of checks on European travelers traveling within the EU.
Simple: Booze and tobacco are taxed differently in every country and even intra-Europe there are caps as to how much you can buy abroad and bring back. That control is only going to stop when there's a harmonised tax on booze/tobacco, i.e. never. There are other goods that may/will be controlled by customs intra-Europe. I had a colleague that would get furious every time customs would confiscate medicine he ordered via internet from an other EU country. Checks on cash are quite normal too since it may be transported across border for the sole purpose of tax evasion.