Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions on mobility have been praised by governments all over the world as one of the central means to deal with the pandemic. The European Union was no exception. From the beginning of March 2020, 19 European member states decided to limit international mobility, including within the Schengen area. Drawing from a medium-term analysis on border checks reinstatement in the EU, this chapter reflects on the continuities and discontinuities of this phenomenon. What can be drawn from the history of border checks reinstatement to understand the dynamics at play in today’s response to the pandemic? What are the specificities of the reinstatement of border checks during the Covid-19 pandemic? Building on the post-rokkannian literature which explores the parallel between State formation and EU integration, the chapter assesses the tensions between EU and national political centre regarding control of transnational mobility between March 2020 and March 2021.