• Germany to increase border controls on all land borders
    Politics Security and Terrorism

    Germany increases checks on all 9 land borders

    European Newsdesk Posted on

    Germany increases passport checks essentially suspending the schengen agreement and will temporarily check passports for the next 6 months on all land borders with its 9 neighbours, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. The move is officially to curb illegal immigration and increase security.

    German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Monday the extension of passport controls at all of Germany’s land borders reported DW. The move aims to reduce the number of people entering the country without proper visas, as part of an ongoing effort to limit irregular migration. Faeser cited concerns about Islamist terrorist groups and cross-border criminal networks as reasons for the enhanced border checks. These measures follow a significant rise in first-time asylum requests last year, prompting stricter controls on Germany’s borders with Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Switzerland.

    Although the border checks are officially temporary, they have been repeatedly extended by the German government. Faeser emphasized the importance of these measures, stating, “We are doing everything we can to protect the people in our country,” and reaffirmed her government’s commitment to internal security and a firm stance against irregular migration.

    Reports indicate that Faeser has already informed the European Commission about the new controls, which will affect Germany’s 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) of land borders with neighboring Schengen Zone countries, where travel is typically unrestricted.

    The new controls, set to begin next Monday, will initially last for six months. This decision comes amid heightened debate over immigration in Germany, following a deadly knife attack in Solingen earlier this month, where the suspected attacker, a Syrian citizen, had avoided deportation from Germany.

    Germany’s coalition government is in talks with the conservative CDU and CSU parties on measures to address public concerns over migration. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party recently performed well in regional elections, further intensifying the political conversation around immigration. Faeser’s Social Democrats are also facing a crucial state election in Brandenburg soon, where they govern in coalition with the Greens and Christian Democrats.

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