Germany expands border controls
Published: Monday, Sep 16th 2024, 16:40
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To combat illegal immigration, Germany has extended its existing border controls in the east and south of the country to the west and north. Since midnight, officials have been carrying out checks at the border crossings with Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark. "In my view, this measure is urgently needed to further reduce irregular migration," said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Sunday evening.
The additional checks will initially last six months. They are to be random checks and have as little impact as possible on commuter and travel traffic as well as business and trade.
The checks would be carried out flexibly, "depending on the current situation and security requirements", explained a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin. The situation is assessed on an ongoing basis. "So there are no blanket checks. There is not a federal police officer at every border crossing to stop all traffic." There are also no closed borders.
Schengen does not actually have border controls
Border controls are generally not planned in the Schengen area. To date, the Federal Police have only carried out checks at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and, most recently, France due to the Olympic Games in Paris. However, other Schengen states also carry out checks at their land borders. They justify this partly with the limitation of irregular migration, partly with the threat of Islamist terrorism or with risks in the context of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Unexpected success on the border with the Netherlands
According to the Federal Police, fixed checkpoints were set up in Lower Saxony, including on the Autobahn 30 near Bad Bentheim for people entering from the Netherlands. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, federal police officers checked people entering from Belgium on the Autobahn 44 near Aachen. And in Schleswig-Holstein, officers stood at the Ellund/Frøslev border crossing on the A7 for three hours during the night.
The police in Lower Saxony had an unexpected success at the new checkpoints: they caught three drug smugglers who, according to police reports, initially evaded the checkpoint on the A30 highway near Bad Bentheim and fled. However, officers were able to stop them around 30 kilometers away.
What the controls should achieve
Stationary border controls make it possible to turn people back and prevent them from entering the country. This is less costly than ensuring that someone who has entered Germany without authorization leaves again. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, more than 30,000 people have been turned back at Germany's borders since October 2023. Foreigners who have not applied for asylum and those who have been banned from entering the country are currently being turned back. A demand from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for more extensive refoulement was rejected by the coalition government due to concerns about European law.
Chancellor talks with neighboring countries
Neighboring countries such as Austria and Poland have raised concerns about the expansion of border controls. However, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has said that he has begun to discuss the issue very carefully with the heads of neighboring countries and also with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"Everyone knows that we are acting within the framework of European law, but that we are making maximum use of our possibilities," said Scholz on Sunday evening during his trip to Uzbekistan. "Everyone understands that the number of people coming to Germany is too high and that it is therefore in the understandable interest of the German government to ensure that we get these things under control through good management of irregular migration." This also includes such controls.
Criticism from the Greens and the Left
The Greens are critical of the measures. "It is questionable how effective border protection can be, also in view of the staffing levels of the federal police," North Rhine-Westphalia's Deputy Minister President Mona Neubaur told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper.
Janine Wissler, leader of the Left Party, predicted "gigantic traffic jams at the border". A chain reaction from other EU countries was also to be expected. "The barriers could soon come down again everywhere", warned Wissler. Tens of thousands of refugees could be stranded at the EU's external borders in countries such as Italy or Greece.
Union demands further measures
The Union considers the controls to be inadequate. It demands comprehensive rejections at the borders. "Controls alone are not enough. The refusal of the traffic light for comprehensive refoulement is a capitulation," said the head of the CSU MPs in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, to the "Bild" newspaper.
CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz reaffirmed his openness in principle to a top-level meeting with Chancellor Scholz. He had declared his willingness to do so, he said on the ZDF program "Berlin direkt". Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had suggested a new attempt at the highest level following the failure of the migration talks between the government and the CDU/CSU.
©Keystone/SDA
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