Germany decides to introduce controls at land borders with Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic

ATHENS

Germany has decided to introduce temporary controls at its land borders with Poland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, the government said Monday.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser notified the European Commission of the temporary border controls, which aim to step up the fight against human smuggling and limit irregular migration, a statement said.

"The business of the smugglers is becoming more and more brutal and unscrupulous. We were deeply shocked by the terrible deaths of seven people who were smuggled across the German-Austrian border on Friday night,” said Faeser.

“It is now necessary to take all possible measures to stop this cruel business with people's lives. At the same time, we need an effective limitation of irregular migration in order to relieve the burden on our municipalities,” she added.

According to the Interior Ministry, by the beginning of October, this year the German Federal Police already detected some 98,000 unauthorized entries into Germany, up from 92,000 in 2002.

Moreover, the police registered more than 1,550 human smuggling operations and around 1,700 smugglers across the country.

Normally there are no border controls between Schengen Area countries, including Germany and the three other countries involved.

Controls have been imposed under extraordinary circumstances, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020.