Germany imposes border controls in face of illegal migration; claimed “unacceptable” by Poland

Germany imposes border controls at all land borders from September 16, in an attempt to stop illegal migrants from threatening national security. 

Why is Germany imposing border controls?

Germany´s Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser announced that controls at all borders will begin on September 16 and remain in place, initially, for six months. “We want to further reduce irregular migration,” said Faeser. “To this end, we are now taking further steps that go beyond the comprehensive measures currently in place.”

The Minister highlighted that border control has become ever so important, as Germany has been recording high numbers of threats from Islamist terror groups, and the government will be responsible for protecting the country “against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime.”

Faeser emphasised that 30,000 people had been turned away since Germany implemented partial border controls in 2023, adding that this number will increase with new measures taken; “Until we achieve strong protection of the EU´s external borders with the new Common European Asylum System, we need to strengthen controls at our national borders.”

The new measure comes following a deadly knife attack in Solingen in August, for which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, and the alleged attacker was suspected to be an asylum seeker. In 2022, Macro Trends statistics revealed Germany received 2,075,445,00 refugees in a year; a 65, 28 per cent increase from 2021.

The rising figures have been regarded as a serious fault in German laws by Germany´s far-right party AfD, which had recently become the first far-right party to win a German state election since 1945, much due to its anti-immigration message. Marcus Engler of the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research said about the government´s decision; “The intention of the government seems to be to show symbolically to Germans and to potential migrants that the latter are no longer wanted here.”

Where will Germany impose border controls?

The new measures come after Berlin imposed stricter border controls last year on its borders with Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. The Austria checks are in place until November, while the Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic, measures are in force until December 2024.

From September 16, border controls will apply to the land borders with Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Switzerland. Temporary border controls will be set up at the land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark.

European fright of Germany imposing border controls

By law, the Schengen area allows for free travel between member countries but states have the right to introduce border checks if they feel that their internal security or public policy is under threat. While Germany describes the new measure as imperative, neighbouring countries have mixed feelings about the new border controls.

The Austrian Minister of Interior, Gerhard Karner said that Austria wouldn´t take in any migrants rejected by Germany, stressing that “there´s no room for maneuver there.” The spokesperson of the Czech Ministry of Interior, Hana Mala also said that the measures could lead to a domino effect of checks throughout the Schengen Area, resulting in border traffic and worsened relationships between the EU states.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared Germany´s decision “unacceptable,” and said that his government would consult other affected countries to find a solution. “What Poland needs is not an increase in controls at our border but greater involvement of countries such as Germany in guarding and securing the EU´s external borders.”
Receiving more refugees than most European countries, Germany´s decision could lead to havoc of protests, noted Alberto-Horst

Neidhardt of the European Policy Centre think tank; “Chaotic scenes of camps could come to mark some of the most (congested) entry points.” Neidhardt also suggested that the measures could provoke a “chain reaction, with countries such as France or the Netherlands where coalition partners were elected on anti-immigration platform following suit.”

According to Neidhardt, although the measures are reflective of the changing views of German citizens, while “raising public expectations that internal borders will be sealed, the reintroduction of controls will, however, not prevent all irregular arrivals,” marking the regulation as a symbol more than a concrete plan.

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