Germany may extend border controls beyond December 15, 2024, after Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said such measures may last until new EU asylum rules become effective later next year.
Faeser argued that border controls with Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Czechia are helping to reduce irregular migration, stressing that they should be kept in place “as long as necessary”, Schengen.News reports.
For me, the border controls should remain as long as necessary. We have achieved great success in reducing irregular migration [and] the fight against smugglers has been very effective.
Germany Border Controls Set to Last Beyond December 15
Currently, Germany maintains controls at its borders with Austria, Czechia, Poland and Switzerland. Border controls with Czechia and Poland are set to last until December 15, while those with Austria are set to last until November 11.
Authorities in Germany also introduced border controls with France due to the Olympic Games in Paris. In addition, the country also kept border controls at all its borders in June this year during the UEFA European Football Championship.
However, following the recent plans of the Interior Ministry of Germany, December 15 may not be the last day for border controls to remain effective.
Germany’s Green Politicians Call for Abolishment of Border Controls
Germany’s Green politicians recently addressed a letter to the European Commission, expressing their concerns related to the ongoing controls that are being kept in place by authorities in Germany.
In the letter, Green politicians said that Germany, together with seven other European Union countries, is not acting in line with the Schengen Border Code.
Moreover, a new expert opinion shows that the intended effect of border controls and the success reports related to them are very questionable and often not statistically proven. Instead, there are indications of detours, double counting, and possibly illegal rejections.
The letter was also signed by the MEPs Anna Cavazzini and Erik Marquardt, Members of the German Bundestag Filiz Polat and Marcel Emmerich, and members of the Brandenburg State Parliament Sahra Damus.
Green parliamentarians argued that the introduction of border controls for events such as the UEFA or Olympic Games is understandable as a short-term measure. However, according to them, there should be an exit from the partly years-long stationary border controls at the end of these events.
Last month, the leader of the parliamentary group of the junior coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP), Christian Dürr, together with some of the country’s interior ministers, called for the further extension of frontier checks, arguing that these controls are helping the country to curb irregular migration.
