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La Germany is preparing to strengthen the Checks all border internal. German media, citing government sources, reported the decision taken by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and notified to the European Commission.
Germany increases border controls: the reasons
The goal of this decision is to try to reduce the number of people entering the country without a regular visa and consequently limit the possible criminal threats and Islamic terrorism.
The EU Commission announced on Tuesday, through a spokeswoman, that it had received notification from Berlin of the decision to extend, starting from September 16th for 6 months, internal border controls.
At the end of August, the German government announced the arrival of a package of measures in response to the terrible massacre in Solingen, when three people were killed and eight injured with a knife during a concert.
The German decision has provoked negative reactions especially for issues related to immigration management. In Austria, in fact, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said that the country will not accept migrants rejected at the border by Germany. Polish Prime Minister Tusk shares the same opinion.
The suspension of the Schengen Agreement
This kind of measure implies a suspension of the Schengen agreement on free movement at the EU borders.
Last October, Germany had already resumed border controls with Switzerland, Czech Republic e Poland to stop the flow of migrants. According to the Ministry of the Interior, more than 30 people have been rejected since October. Now the decision taken by the Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, extends the radius to all borders.
Another concern is that increased controls could cause delays and complications in movement across borders. In this regard, Joris Bengevoord, mayor of Winterswijk, said:
“At some border crossings, waiting times were up to half an hour,” recalling the case related to the 2024 European Football Championship.
The increase in arrivals in Germany
According to the German government, there has been an increase in arrivals between 2022 and 2023, which has from 199 thousand to 266 thousand.
During his speech in the Bundestag, the German Chancellor, Olaf scholz, said:
“Cosmopolitanism is necessary, but cosmopolitanism does not mean that everyone who wants to come can come. We need to be able to choose who can come to Germany. For this reason we must also manage irregular immigration and repatriate those who cannot stay”.
