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Control at the border crossing to the Czech Republic: measures extended by three months
Photo: HärtelPRESS / IMAGO
Stationary controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland are to continue at least until 15 March next year. Border controls were ordered for the first time in mid-October.
The extension is intended to combat smuggling even more strongly and limit irregular migration, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced.
"Our measures are working," said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). As a result of the temporary border controls and measures closely coordinated with neighboring countries, the number of unauthorized entries nationwide fell by more than 60 percent, from over 20,000 in October to about 7300,<> unauthorized entries in November.
Faeser had extended border controls several times for shorter periods of time since they were introduced on October 16. Stationary internal border controls have been running at the German-Austrian border since autumn 2015. They are to continue at least until 11 May 2024.
Border controls are not actually provided for within the Schengen area and must be reported to Brussels. If it is only a matter of a few days, this can be done with a short notice. However, this possibility ends after two months, in the case of Germany on 15 December.
"It is regrettable that the border controls with Switzerland are being extended until March," said Ann-Veruschka Jurisch, a member of the FDP's domestic affairs committee. The resulting traffic jams and the associated delays in border traffic restrict commuters in particular, complained the member of the Bundestag, who has her constituency in Constance. In any case, the checks by German police officers on the Swiss side are more successful than the stationary controls at the border. This is where most of the rejections are pronounced.
eru/dpa/AFX