Shortly before the start of the European Football Championship, the Federal Police had already identified hundreds of illegal entries or attempted entries into Germany. The controls are primarily intended to stop violent criminals.
During the border controls that were temporarily introduced because of the European Football Championship, the Federal Police identified 1,400 illegal entries before the start of the tournament. In addition, 900 people were prevented from entering the country between June 7 and 13, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser told Bild am Sonntag. 173 arrest warrants were executed. “This shows that our measures are working.” The aim is to identify and stop violent offenders early on, said Faeser.
According to the minister, 19 people were also found in the area of politically motivated crime and 34 people smugglers were arrested. The expanded controls are also taking place at the borders with Denmark, France and the Benelux countries, where no checks were carried out before. In addition, travelers from the Schengen area can be checked at airports and ports.
“Largest operation in the history of the Federal Police”
22,000 federal police officers will be deployed to ensure security during the European Championships – according to Faeser, the largest deployment in the history of the federal police. “They are protecting our borders, airports and rail traffic,” said the minister. The controls are planned to last until July 19, i.e. until a few days after the European Championship final on July 14.
At the end of May, the Interior Ministry announced that it would extend the stationary controls at the land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, which have been in place since the beginning of the year, by six months. The reason given was that this was to combat human trafficking and limit irregular migration.
Number of migrants on “Belarus route” rises again
The number of migrants has now increased again, particularly at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic – along the so-called Belarus route. The Federal Police recorded 2,215 illegal entries on this route between the beginning of January and the end of May, the authority told the dpa news agency. In January and February there were 26 and 25, respectively; in March the number rose to 412, in April to 861 and in May, according to preliminary data, to 891. Since the beginning of the year, 1,021 illegal entries have been recorded in Brandenburg, 867 in Saxony and 327 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Despite this increasing trend, the overall numbers are significantly lower than last year. By the end of May 2023, the Federal Police had identified a good 6,000 illegal entries on the “Belarus route,” according to the Integration Media Service, which compiles police statistics.
Poland and the EU accuse Russia and Belarus of using visas and logistics to help people from crisis regions enter the EU illegally since 2021. Poland has now erected a 5.5-meter-high fence on its EU external border. According to Polish border guards, people are still trying to cross the border. 16,500 such attempts have been registered since the beginning of the year, and 11,200 in the same period in 2023.