The impending expansion of controls at Germany’s external borders is sparking further criticism from its EU neighbors. “The only way to stop irregular immigration is to efficiently control the EU’s external borders. Not the internal borders,” said Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the Internet service X.
Previously, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had explained to the Polish Prime Minister in a telephone conversation the planned steps to curb irregular migrationBorder controls already exist at the borders with Poland, as well as at the borders with the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.
Starting Monday, the Federal Police are planning to carry out stationary checks at all German land borders. The expansion will initially last for six months.
The expansion of border controls is presenting the Federal Police with major challenges within a very short period of time.
Uli GrötschPolice Commissioner of the Federal
This presents a logistical challenge for the Federal Police. “The expansion of border controls is presenting the Federal Police with major challenges within a very short period of time – in terms of personnel, structure and organisation,” said the Federal Police Commissioner, Uli Grötsch (SPD)the Tagesspiegel.
The burden on police officers is already very high due to the existing controls. “The Federal Police needs concrete support – with shift intervals, compensation for overtime or accommodation during rest periods,” said Grötsch.
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The police union also warned of an overload. “The federal police will be busy gathering forces until Monday morning,” said the chairman of the federal police union, Andreas Roßkopf, to the editorial network Germany. “This is not yet finished,” he added.
Among other things, this is due to the fact that the announcement by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) came as a surprise.
© Imago/Ute Grabowsky
In view of the impending expansion of controls at Germany’s land borders, the chairman of the European Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter, called for a coordinated approach, particularly with Poland.
“If we do not continue to support Ukraine consistently, we will have to expect hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the Russian war of aggression in the coming years,” the Green politician told the Tagesspiegel newspaper in response to Tusk’s criticism. War refugees from Ukraine do not have to go through an asylum procedure in Germany and other EU countries.
Hofreiter called for a European solution to migration policy. It would be the beginning of the end of the EU if every member state introduced its own border controls, he continued. He expected that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Tusk would continue to coordinate closely in the future, Hofreiter continued.
Faeser defended the expansion of controls. “Our measures are working – and we are strengthening them further in order to push back irregular migration,” she told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
Due to the border controls that have been in place since October 2023, more than 30,000 people have been turned away at the German borders, Faeser stressed. This has contributed to the fact that the number of asylum seekers has fallen by more than a fifth compared to last year.
© dpa/Michael Kappeler
While the temporary border controls at Germany’s external borders can count on the approval of the EU Commission, the rejections at the borders proposed by CDU leader Friedrich Merz to limit irregular migration are considered legally controversial. Merz nevertheless stuck to his proposal on Saturday.
He called for a common European solution and demanded that EU partners protect their borders better. With regard to the right to asylum in Germany, he referred to the relevant Article 16a of the Basic Law, which provides for restrictions in the event that refugees have previously passed through a safe third country.
Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) made a similar argument. Article 16a states that “people who enter from a safe third country are not granted the right to asylum,” Woidke told the news portal “t-online” one week before the state election in BrandenburgThe fact that he is closer to Merz than to his federal SPD with this demand shows that democratic parties are faced with the common challenge of finding solutions to this complex issue, said Woidke. (With AFP/epd)
