Poland deems Berlin’s reestablishment of border controls “unacceptable”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday, September 10, denounced the “unacceptable” Berlin’s announcement on Monday of a tightening of Germany’s migration policy with controls at all of its borders. A measure taken by the federal government to combat illegal immigration. The subject is a major political concern for Olaf Scholz’s government in the face of the rise of the extreme right.

“This kind of action is unacceptable from the Polish point of view”Donald Tusk said in a televised speech to Polish ambassadors gathered in Warsaw for an annual conference. “What Poland needs is not more stringent controls at our borders, but greater participation of countries, including countries like Germany, in monitoring and securing the external borders of the European Union,” to deal in particular with a wave of illegal immigration orchestrated, according to Warsaw, by Russia and Belarus.

Under the German announcements, checks with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark will be established for six months from September 16. They will be added to the controls already in place at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. On Tuesday, the European Commission pleaded with Berlin for measures “proportionate” and who must remain “exceptional” within the Schengen free movement area.

For his part, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed Berlin’s choice. “Germany has decided to impose strict border controls to stop illegal immigration”he wrote on X on Tuesday. “Welcome to the club!”he added, mentioning German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The populist and ultraconservative Hungarian leader has long been hostile to migrants.