Germany Extends Border Control Until March 2024
German control at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland has been extended until 2024 to reduce illegal migration. A 60% decrease in illegal border crossings has been recorded
Germany has decided to extend temporary control at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland until March 15, 2024. This decision, based on Article 25 of the Schengen Code, aims to reduce the number of illegal migrants, reports "Interfax-Ukraine".
Germany's Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, announced this, noting that since the introduction of these measures in mid-October, the police have detained about 340 smugglers, and the number of illegal border crossings has decreased by more than 60%.
Similar control continues at the border with Austria until May 11, 2024.
Since the beginning of 2023, there have been about 119,000 cases of illegal entry in Germany, which is more than the 92,000 last year.
After the German customs enhanced vehicle inspections at the border with Poland, this immediately led to long queues, but the situation has now improved.
Since mid-October 2023, Germany has introduced temporary customs checks at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Austria. Nancy Faeser, Germany's Interior Minister, announced new border control measures, emphasizing their importance for protecting the EU's external borders and maintaining the openness of internal borders.
These actions were taken in response to an increase in asylum requests and cases of illegal border crossing. Faeser stated that the new measures are aimed at combating smuggling and illegal migration.
Like Germany, the Czech Republic has strengthened checks at its border with Slovakia and on the roads to Germany. Poland has also tightened control at the border with Slovakia, focusing on inspecting vehicles that might be used by migrants for illegal entry into the country.
The increase in the number of people trying to enter Germany through Poland via the "Balkan route" has been one of the reasons for tightening control.