Increased security?

Has anyone else noticed an increase in security and immigration control at the airports when travelling around Europe?

I recently went to Germany for work and when I arrived in Germany the IO took out a lens that he put over his eye and started examining the 1st page of my passport as if he was looking to see if it was a forgery.  THEN i got stamped and let in.  When i was leaving Germany yesterday i went through passport control again and they did the same thing with the eye lens thing and i got another stamp.  I would have thought it was just a German thing but then when i arrived back in England the IO got out the same eye-piece and started really scanning and looking over the front page of my passport... and i got another stamp.  So three stamps in one trip and everytime the IO looked at the front page with an eyepiece. 

I've never noticed this eyepiece before and I've travelled alot in the passed 2 years... and it was taken out 3 time for a round trip flight.  Just me or anyone else notice this? What are they looking for? Not bothered, Just curious...

I was in Munich last month and didn't experience anything like that.  Maybe it depends what airport you go to?

When I went through both Frankfort and Dusseldorf in September I didn't get anything like that.  Very strange. 

ETA:  I did go through Passport control, but the didn't really even look at my passport.  They just stamped it and that was it. 

Yeh, I was in Koln, Bonn airport.... and before you could enter your gate area there were 2 IO's in booths that you had to give your passport to... and it was like that at every gate (and i believe theres about 50 gates in that airport).

That is definitely odd. I also did not know you would get so many stamps!

(Separate from the European issue, travelling from Manchester to US, I was scrutinized quite a bit. My bag was thoroughly searched after it went through the screening and I was patted down right at the boarding gate along with another thorough search of my bag. They went through every page of my novel twice! Not nice. I pouted.  )

I am looking forward to finding out how your business trip went!

I have an old style passort with the laminated picture. That one usually gets hairy looks by immigration but not in Western Europe. Many use the laser scanner thing to read the passport and then it is stamp-stamp and I am on my way.