migration
Faeser defends no to border controls
Already announced a stronger manhunt at the borders to Poland and the Czech Republic because of the many illegal entries: Nancy Faeser. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Stationary controls at the border with the Czech Republic are no longer an issue. However, the number of unauthorized entries to Poland has recently risen sharply.
Despite criticism, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is currently sticking to the rejection of stationary border controls with Poland – but will not completely rule them out in the future.
“The federal government continues to carefully monitor developments at the borders,” said a ministry spokesman for the German Press Agency. “The federal government continues to see the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls at other German borders as a last resort, which must be suitable and necessary to achieve the purpose pursued.”
At the refugee summit on May 10, the federal and state governments agreed to introduce stationary controls, such as those at the border with Austria, at other internal borders in Germany, depending on the situation. The CDU interior ministers of Brandenburg and Saxony, Michael Stübgen and Armin Schuster, are demanding that Faeser implement this for the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic.
“Immediate border controls absolutely necessary”
The criticism from the Union is now getting louder. As long as the number of illegal entries to Germany is as high as it is now, consistent measures are needed to stop the development, said the CDU/CSU parliamentary group deputy leader Andrea Lindholz. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) drew a positive balance for the controls on Austria. “Immediate border controls on the border between Bavaria and Austria (…) are currently absolutely necessary,” he told the dpa. As of May 12, Faeser had extended these controls by six months.
Because of the large number of illegal entries, Faeser announced on Thursday a stronger manhunt on the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic. Brandenburg’s CDU faction leader Jan Redmann considers this a “placebo”. “The federal police remain a uniformed welcoming committee that drives irregular entrants to the initial reception center,” he said.
The reintroduction of controls to the Czech Republic is off the table for the time being – that was the result of a meeting between Faeser and her Czech colleague Vit Rakusan and Schuster on Friday. There, Faeser warned of a major obstacle for commuters and the economy if stationary controls came. The Federal Minister of the Interior is visiting the joint center of the German and Polish police in Świecko (Poland) near Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg on Tuesday and is hoping for an agreement similar to that in the Czech Republic.