Germany introduces checks at all its borders in order to limit illegal immigration, DPA reported. According to critics, this decision threatens the Schengen area for visa-free travel, BTA reported.
German police also started checks at the borders with Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. Earlier, border control was introduced at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and France.
Interior Secretary Nancy Fesser, who ordered the checks, said those crossing the border should not fear major traffic disruptions. Last week, Feser officially told the European Commission that German police will start checks at the country's borders, explaining that this is necessary given the large number of migrants entering Germany.
Currently, the inspections are planned to be carried out over six months, but may be extended. Border control with Austria has been in place since 2015. Although the 29 member countries of "Schengen", which includes most EU member states along with Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, generally allow free movement across internal borders, controls have been introduced in some places because of the situation with migrants and the threat and Islamist terrorism.
Border checks allow authorities to turn migrants back, which is a much easier procedure than deporting them once they arrive in the country.
Since October 2023, Germany has turned back around 30,000 migrants without the right to enter the country. The issue of migration is back on the political agenda after a Syrian man killed three people in the western city of Solingen last month.