Germany strengthens border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic

A response to increasing migratory movements. Germany will strengthen its border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Wednesday September 27. The border with Poland is 470 km long, while that with the Czech Republic is 650 km long.

However, the minister did not announce fixed controls, as demanded by the conservatives of the CDU, the main opposition party. But this exceptional measure on the territory of the European Union should receive the approval of Brussels. “I do not exclude the possibility that we will do it later”if the additional controls “do not work”warned Nancy Faeser.

The only fixed checkpoints to enter Germany are at the Austrian border, a legacy of the 2015-2016 migration crisis, when Europe’s largest economy welcomed more than a million refugees.

“Better protect the borders”

The situation at the borders has nothing to do with that time, when Germany recorded close to 200,000 illegal entries per month. However, police figures show an increase in flows, with a peak of 15,000 illegal entries in August.

Since the start of the year, more than 70,000 entries have been counted, an increase of almost 60% compared to the same period last year. As for asylum requests, they increased by 77% compared to 2022 (204,000 compared to 115,000), according to official statistics.

Nancy Faeser called on countries on Europe’s external borders, such as Italy and Poland, to “better protect borders” and to “apply the procedures” planned by Brussels. Without this, “open borders within the EU are in danger”she warned.