Since midnight in the West: Police start comprehensive border controls

Since midnight in the West
Police begin comprehensive border controls

16.09.2024, 02:49

Listen to article

In order to combat illegal migration, the federal government has ordered checks at all German borders. The police have been carrying out spot checks in the west since midnight, and checks in the north are to follow later in the day. The Union thinks that this is not enough.

As announced, Germany has expanded its existing border controls in the east and south of the country to the land border in the west. Since midnight, officials in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia have been carrying out checks at the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, the Federal Police confirmed. On Monday, controls will also be set up at the borders with Luxembourg and Denmark.

The additional controls will initially last for six months in order to further reduce the number of illegal entries. Commuter and tourist traffic should be affected as little as possible. Border controls are not actually planned in the Schengen area. So far, the federal police have only carried out checks at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and, since the Olympic Games in Paris, France. The additional controls have been legally possible since midnight.

Faeser wants to reverse illegal migration

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in the evening: “In my view, this measure is urgently needed to further reduce irregular migration.” Last week, the SPD politician ordered that there should be stationary controls at all land borders from Monday.

A spokesman for the Federal Police said that additional officers were deployed in Lower Saxony as planned. They are to check people entering the country from the Netherlands on the Lower Saxony side. Permanent checkpoints have been set up on the A30 motorway near Bad Bentheim, the A280 near Bunde and the B402 federal road near Schöninghsdorf (near Meppen). In addition, search operations have been announced on the side roads near the border with the Netherlands. In North Rhine-Westphalia, federal police officers are checking people entering the country from Belgium on the A44 motorway near Aachen.

What the controls are intended to achieve

Stationary border controls make it possible to reject certain migrants. This is less time-consuming than ensuring that someone who has already entered Germany illegally leaves again. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there have been more than 30,000 rejections at the German borders since October 2023. Foreigners who do not apply for asylum and those who are subject to an entry ban are currently being rejected.

The traffic light coalition had rejected a demand by the Union faction for comprehensive rejections due to concerns about European law.

What the neighboring countries think about it

Neighbouring countries such as Austria and Poland had – also in the course of this broader discussion – expressed concerns about the expansion of border controls. However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has “begun to speak very carefully with the heads of the neighbouring countries, including with the President of the European Commission,” as he said on Sunday evening during his trip to Uzbekistan. “Everyone knows that we are operating within the framework of European law, but are making maximum use of our options,” explained Scholz. “Everyone understands that the number of people coming to Germany is too large and that it is therefore in the German government's understandable interest to ensure that we get these things under control through good management of irregular migration.” This also includes such controls.

The Greens, however, are critical of them. “It is questionable how effective border protection can be, especially given the staffing levels of the federal police,” said North Rhine-Westphalia's Deputy Prime Minister Mona Neubaur to the “Tagesspiegel”.

Faeser reported the expansion of controls to the EU Commission last Monday, as required, and justified it by saying that irregular migration is a major burden on Germany. They are initially planned for six months. However, past experience has shown that such controls do not end so quickly once they are introduced. The Federal Police have been carrying out checks at the land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since mid-October, and at the border with Austria since autumn 2015.

According to the Schengen Agreement, this is not generally provided for. But other Schengen states also carry out controls at their land borders, justifying this partly with the aim of limiting irregular migration, partly with the threat of Islamist terrorism or with risks in the context of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

What the Union requires

The Union believes that the controls are insufficient to control irregular immigration. “Controls alone are not enough. Refusing the traffic light for comprehensive rejection is a capitulation,” said the chairman of the CSU Bundestag member, Alexander Dobrindt, to the “Bild” newspaper. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul called for further talks with the SPD, among others. These “absolutely” have to take place, said the CDU politician in response to a question on the “Berlin Playbook” podcast of the magazine “Politico”. “It is very important that people come together. This must be solved across party lines.”

CDU chairman Friedrich Merz reiterated his fundamental openness to a top-level meeting with Chancellor Scholz. He had declared his willingness to do so, said the Union faction leader on the ZDF program “Berlin direct”. “However, the government spokesman then explained that the Chancellor would not consider extending an invitation. We cannot force him to do so. I take note of that.”