Increased veil searches, selective checks at the borders – the Interior Minister has long been reluctant to order stationary checks at further sections of the border. Now the decision came.
Immediately after Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) gave in, the federal police began stationary border controls at the German borders in the east. In Brandenburg and Saxony it started with fixed controls on Monday evening. After much hesitation, Faeser had previously notified the EU Commission of stationary controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
As her ministry announced on Monday, the federal police’s temporary checks directly on the border with Austria, which have been in place since autumn 2015, are to be extended by a further six months. Faeser justified the move by limiting irregular migration. It is also about “fighting smuggling crime even more strongly,” the statement said.
Suspected smuggler caught in the net
In Brandenburg, checks have begun in several places, as a spokeswoman for the Berlin Federal Police Directorate told the German Press Agency. Federal police officers checked directly at the border on the city bridge in Frankfurt (Oder).
Controls also started in Saxony, which borders on Poland and the Czech Republic, as a spokesman for the Pirna Federal Police Directorate said. Motorway 17 (Prague-Dresden), among others, was affected on Monday evening. Shortly after the start of the check at Bad Gottleuba, the officers caught a suspected smuggler, a federal police spokesman reported. This is a Syrian who is said to have tried to bring seven of his compatriots to Germany.
“This multiple threat situation is so tense overall that it is justified to immediately begin border controls in parallel to the notification procedure in Brussels,” said Saxon Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) to the dpa in Dresden. Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) said: “We must do everything we can to curb illegal smuggling. The current situation is unacceptable.”
The decision is initially valid for ten days
Faeser’s decision initially applies to the newly notified border sections for ten days. The notification could be extended for up to a total of two months, her ministry said. In security circles, however, it is expected that the controls will later be registered for a longer period of time.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Police detected around 98,000 unauthorized entries into Germany from the beginning of January to the beginning of October.
The minister pointed out that every vehicle should not be stopped at the affected border crossings around the clock in the future. “The Federal Police can now flexibly deploy the entire package of stationary and mobile border police measures, depending on the current situation,” said Faeser. It is particularly important to her “that the controls have as little impact as possible on the everyday life of commuters, on trade and on travel.”
Smugglers should be stopped better
Just a few days ago, Faeser announced increased controls near the eastern border and represented the legal opinion that the federal police could stop vehicles directly at the border at certain points – for example if there was a suspicion of smuggling there. She rejected demands from the CDU interior ministers of Saxony and Brandenburg, Armin Schuster and Michael Stübgen, for stationary controls, among other things, with the argument that anyone who requests asylum at the border generally cannot be turned away anyway.
However, smugglers are easier to catch with checks directly at the border crossing than with checks in the hinterland. Because they have often already disappeared there by the time the police pick up the people who entered the country irregularly with them. Or accidents occur like last week, when a suspected smuggler, presumably to avoid detection by the police, accelerated so hard that he lost control of his vehicle. Seven people died in the accident in Bavaria.
Rejections at Schengen internal borders are only legally permissible if the temporary reintroduction of border controls has previously been notified to the EU Commission. However, rejections are only used in relatively few cases, for example if a foreigner is banned from entering the country or if he does not apply for asylum.
France already uses selective controls
Although the principle of open internal borders actually applies in the Schengen area, several states have currently notified border controls. France, for example, has requested controls at its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, citing terror risks and irregular migration. However, the French do not check everywhere around the clock, but rather selectively and according to the situation. Things will be similar in the future at Germany’s borders with the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland.
“It is also clear: we want to return to internal borders as quickly as possible, where we do not have to check,” emphasized Faeser. To achieve this, it is necessary to successfully conclude negotiations on a reform of the Common European Asylum System with comprehensive EU external border protection.
The chairman of the Greens in the Bundestag’s Interior Committee, Marcel Emmerich, criticized the minister’s decision, both in terms of content and public communication. He said: “The minister’s long back and forth caused a lot of irritation for me too.” Stationary border controls are a “sham solution”.
No official criticism from Switzerland
The Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan showed understanding for the German decision. There was no official criticism from Switzerland either. The cooperation between Switzerland and Germany to curb migration, which was agreed at the end of 2022, will now be further intensified, according to the Justice and Police Department in Bern.
From the beginning of January to the end of September, 233,744 people in Germany applied for asylum for the first time, around 73 percent more than in the same period last year. Many municipalities see themselves at the limit when it comes to accommodation, care and integration of refugees – also because more than a million war refugees from Ukraine have come to Germany since the Russian war of aggression began in February 2022. They do not have to apply for asylum.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
