Germany announced, this Monday, a temporary reintroduction of controls at all of its land borders with the aim of reducing irregular migration and boosting internal security starting September 16.
The German Interior Ministry said it has notified the European Commission of its plan to impose temporary checks at borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark during the next six months, adding to the existing controls at the borders with Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
“We are strengthening our internal security and staying firm on the issue of irregular migration,” stated Interior Minister Nancy Faeser during a Berlin briefing where the new border checks were announced.
The Social Democrat minister underscored that the measure includes the possibility of turning away migrants who are found with false documentation or who lack visas permitting entry into Germany.
Since October 2023, when temporary border checks were first introduced at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland, German authorities have already blocked roughly 30,000 people attempting irregular entry from those routes, Faeser noted.
Faeser clarified that, at present, police can only refuse entry at the border to individuals who do not have an asylum application in process.
Nevertheless, she indicated that the ministry has been examining how to implement in a future scenario a system of large-scale refusals and has identified a legally solid framework that will be presented on Tuesday in a meeting with opposition parties and regional governments.
Since a recent knife attack attributed to a suspected extremist, which left three people dead in western Germany, migration has returned to the forefront of the national political agenda.
Shortly after, the Interior Ministry introduced a package of measures to tighten gun laws, reduce benefits for asylum seekers already registered in other countries, and expedite deportations of violent criminals, which was approved by the Cabinet on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic opposition has offered a state-wide migration pact to the governing coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals, contingent on also barring asylum seekers at German borders in the future.
In the regional elections held on September 1 in Saxony and Thuringia, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) finished first and second respectively, capturing about a third of the votes, a result that highlighted gains for a party that has made tougher immigration policy a central plank.
The party is also expected to perform well in the Brandenburg state where voting takes place on September 22.
Temporary border checks at Austria are scheduled to remain in place until November 1, while checks at Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Poland are set to continue until December 15, though the Interior Ministry indicated that these measures will likely be extended to match the other border regimes.