Germany to continue border controls until migratory pressure falls

The German government will keep border controls in place with its European neighbours so long as the number of refugees arriving stays high, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told RND on Thursday.

Germany issued border controls with Austria since the 2015 migration crisis. After the surge of irregular migrants earlier this year, the government decided to reintroduce stationary checks at the borders of Poland, Switzerland and Czechia. Due to EU requirements, the government will need to renew its border controls in March.

“If we don’t have any other instruments by then and the figures don’t change, we will continue with the checks. I am pragmatic about that. But I have to comply with EU law, which sets deadlines,” Faeser told RND.

Critics have warned that the practice could seriously hurt the border-free Schengen area of the EU, considered one of the crown jewels of European integration.

Germany is aware of this concern and is placing its bets on stricter controls on the European external border to bring down migratory pressure.

“Border controls are a deep intrusion into the freedom of the Schengen area. That’s where we want to go again. But as long as the numbers are so high, I can’t justify it. That is why we are working so hard to ensure that the EU’s external borders are finally protected effectively,” Faeser added.

The government recently also ramped up its efforts to repatriate irregular migrants. In October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he plans to deport migrants on a “grand scale”.

“Anyone who has no prospect of staying in Germany because they cannot invoke reasons for protection must go back,” he told Der Spiegel at the time.

Last week, the government tried to deliver on this promise by signing a migration agreement with Georgia to facilitate the repatriation of Georgian refugees to Germany.

In 2023, the number of deportations of migrants has risen by around 600 compared to last year, but they remain relatively low at 13,512 deportations in the first ten months of 2023.

(Oliver Noyan | Euractiv.de)