Horst Seehofer (CSU) is familiar with border controls. And also with the displeasure about it. When the Federal Minister of the Interior had the borders with various neighboring countries largely closed last spring, there was great annoyance in Europe about Germany going it alone. And the longer Seehofer waited until he allowed the controls to be relaxed, the louder the grumbling became in Germany itself. Above all, those federal states that border France and the Benelux countries pushed for a faster return to normalcy.
Since then, the coronavirus has shown several times that it also keeps coming back, which is why Seehofer is convinced that the measures taken over the past year have “unreservedly” proven their worth. “That was justified at the time,” he said. And because the dangerous delta variant is spreading in the middle of the summer relaxation that prevails in Germany, Seehofer also understands the current advance from Bavaria. “In principle, the Bavarian concern is justified,” said Seehofer Süddeutsche Zeitung on the request of the Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek to closely monitor return travelers. “We have to make sure that we do not bring an additional infection into the country,” said Seehofer.
Travelers could be checked as close as possible to the border, says Seehofer
At the moment nobody has to fear that the borders in Europe will be closed again. Because in the neighboring countries there are similar infection conditions as in Germany. “We don’t have a mutation area around us at the moment,” said Seehofer. So far, only Portugal, Great Britain and Cyprus have been classified as virus mutation areas in Europe. All countries where it is seldom or unlikely that someone will travel to Germany by car. And for transport companies, according to the applicable rules, there is a transport ban in these cases, which can be checked relatively easily at airports. Especially since the Federal Police is exclusively responsible here.
The situation is different with roadside checks. “The question is how tightly can you control that?” Seehofer has a similar system in mind as last year. A so-called “veil measure” in which travelers are checked in places as close as possible to the border. It is also “conceivable” that rapid test stations could be set up there again.
The controls had to be organized in such a way that they worked without wreaking havoc. And that they are also effective. “It can’t be a placebo.” Seehofer is convinced that this is possible. The federal police have “learned” since last year. For example, highways are monitored with drones in order to identify where traffic jams are as quickly as possible. However, every small border crossing cannot be controlled, as was the case last year. “To seal a border without gaps is a sheer illusion.” And in Seehofer’s eyes, proportionality must also be maintained. “I can’t put up with a traffic jam as far as Vienna to get two Russians out of the car,” said Seehofer.