Germany is set to expand the border checks following a knife attack that left three people in the town of Solingen.
The incident took place in August. Germany initiating to extension of temporary border controls that already have in place at some of its borders, the interior minister said.
According to the Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, Berklin will work closely with neighbouring countries in implementing temporary border controls. She also added that it would keep the impact on the border areas as small as possible.
She said that they are strengthening their internal security through concrete action and they are continuing their tough stance against irregular migration. Nancy said in a news conference on Monday.
She added that it is much more important for them to act in close partnership with their neighbours to mitigate the impact on commuters and everyday life in border areas.
Feaser said, “Controls on the borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark would begin on September 16.” She also added that it will initially last for the following 6 months.
The same measure is already in place with the borders of the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, and Switzerland.
The centre-left-led German government has been consulting with the main opposition CDU (Christian Democratic Union) on ways to restrict migration in the face of public concern and after the deadly knife attack by a Syrian asylum seeker last month in Solingen.
Last week, the anti-immigration, far-right Afd (Alternative for German) won the state elections in Thuringia and positioned second in Saxony.
Nancy Faeser’s Social Democrats face a state election in Brandenburg in two weeks, where the party governs in alliance with the Christian Democrats and the Greens.
Germany shares more than 3,700 km of land border with Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Europe’s Schengen area includes 25 of the 27 European Union member states and other various countries, allowing free travel between these countries without border control.
However, member states can reimplement controls at certain land borders in exceptional circumstances. Moreover, several members had done it previously during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the attacks.
Faeser stated that 30,000 people were turned away since Germany implemented partial border controls in 2023. She added that this number will increase now as the border controls are extended across the remaining borders.
Austria’s Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner stated that his country would not take in any migrants rejected by Germany, he told Bild newspaper on Monday.
However, the new border controls mean German police will carry out checks on people seeking to cross the borders.