GERMANY: Germany plans to impose additional border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic this week to curb illegal immigration, as a surge in migrant arrivals has exposed gaps in the EU’s asylum system. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warns that securing external borders is crucial for the EU’s security.
German officials are facing increasing pressure to take action against the rising tide of asylum seekers, many of whom are already entering the country through Poland and the Czech Republic’s borders. In the first seven months of 2023, 204,000 migrants applied for asylum in Germany, which is an increase of 77%.
German politicians are attempting to appear harder on immigration before state elections in Bavaria and Hesse. German chancellor Olaf Scholz connected the border situation to the alleged visas-for-bribes scandal, which has sparked concerns about Poland’s anti-immigration government.
Scholz told an audience in Nürnberg, “I don’t want Poland to just let people through and then have a conversation about our asylum policy afterwards.” Scholz urged that the Polish government “clarify” recent claims that Polish consular personnel distributed a huge number of visas around Africa and Asia, giving entry to the EU in exchange for bribery.
Scholz’s claim that the border crisis is linked to the visa corruption scandal has sparked a backlash from Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party. Poland’s foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, urged Germany to avoid damaging mutual relations.
The issue of border controls is expected to be sensitive in Poland, where parliamentary elections are on October 15. PiS party members have used hostile rhetoric and called for restitution for Nazi Germany’s crimes.
Czech police will collaborate with German counterparts on border checks, according to Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan. German Interior Minister Faeser has attempted similar collaboration with Poland but has not been successful.
Scholz and his interior minister are both members of Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), and their party’s dwindling poll numbers may have a lot to do with their stricter attitude on immigration.
The SPD is struggling nationally, polling at 17%, trailing the AfD, which is at 21%. An official told the US media that Germany could avoid EU laws requiring member states to notify the Commission a month in advance before imposing border controls within the Schengen passport-free travel area by using spot checks.
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