Germany initiated stringent border controls on all its frontiers starting this Monday, aiming to curb illegal immigration.
Critics argue that this move threatens the Schengen Area’s principles of free movement.
The German police are set to conduct checks at border crossings with Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark, expanding the existing controls already in place with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and France.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who ordered the inspections, assured that travellers should not expect significant traffic disruptions.
Faeser officially registered the new controls with the European Commission last week, citing the necessity due to the large influx of migrants entering Germany.
Initially set for six months, the duration of these controls might be extended. The controls on the Austrian border have been ongoing since 2015.
While the Schengen Agreement generally allows free movement across internal borders for most EU countries, plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, controls have been reintroduced at some crossings due to immigration concerns.
Border controls enable authorities to return migrants, a process much simpler than deporting them after they have entered the country.
Since October 2023, Germany has returned about 30,000 migrants who did not have legal rights to enter.
The issue of immigration has returned to the forefront of the political agenda after a tragic incident last month, where a Syrian man allegedly carried out a mass stabbing in Solingen, Germany, resulting in three fatalities.
Germany has officially announced that it has exhausted its resources dedicated to accommodating the growing influx of migrants.
According to a report by Der Spiegel, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser informed the European Commission that both federal and state-level resources for accepting and supporting migrants have been fully depleted.
