Stricter controls have been implemented at the border between Germany and the Czech Republic since Wednesday. These measures are aimed at curbing illegal migration and have sparked discussions on both sides of the border.
Since Wednesday, travellers from the Czech Republic to Germany have encountered the stricter border controls introduced by Germany’s new Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt. New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had long announced that his cabinet would intensify the fight against illegal immigration once he took office.
Dobrindt has also decided that migrants wishing to apply for asylum in Germany can now be turned back at land borders. He also unveiled plans to increase the number of federal police officers stationed at the border, with reports from the German media suggesting that thousands of additional officers could be deployed. Only ‘vulnerable groups’, such as children and pregnant women, will be exempt from refoulement at the border.
Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the measures against illegal migration would not have a ‘major impact’ on the Czech Republic and its citizens. He added that he had already discussed the German approach with Dobrindt by phone over the weekend.
During his inaugural visit to Brussels on Friday, Merz emphasised that the rejections were in line with European law. “Our European neighbours are also fully aware of this. Germany is not going it alone here,” said Merz, according to German news channel Tagesschau.
The tightening of border measures has been criticised by German business representatives. Volker Treier, a representative of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), argued that this would restrict economic growth. “The coronavirus crisis already demonstrated that border restrictions have a negative impact on the economy,” he told Handelsblatt (GER). He warned of the measures’ potential impact on freight transport, commuters, and tourism in particular.
In the Schengen Area, which allows around 400 million people to travel freely between the participating EU countries, internal border controls are generally not envisaged. The Schengen Borders Code only permits such controls under exceptional circumstances at certain internal borders.
