W Saxony by Polish-German border two border crossings have been reopened. German federal police dismantled office containers placed at the official border crossings Friedensstrasse and B178 in Zittau, German media report.
The mayor of the local district commented on the matter Stephan Meyerwho explained that this is a “tactical” approach. – This allows it (the federal police – ed.) to act more flexibly. It no longer operates only based on fixed checkpoints, but rather ensures a flexible presence in the area depending on the situation – he said in a recording posted online.
– I want to clearly emphasize that the issue of security and limiting illegal migration is still important to us. We will continue to be in close contact with the federal police, he stressed.
According to him, the police will now be more “mobile”, a inspections will be more “secret”. German media add that the changes were introduced because the system was about to become ineffective. MDR Fernsehen reported that no illegal migrant smuggler has been caught recently at either of these two border crossings.
Controls on the Polish-German border. Berlin explains the decision, and Tusk thunders “unacceptable”
In September this year Germany introduced controls at all land borders. They already announced that the intensified inspections would last at least six months. They were aimed at, among others, to combat cross-border crime. The reason for their order was the need to reduce illegal migration and protection of the country's internal security – the German Ministry of Internal Affairs announced at the time.
The decision sparked criticism from some EU countries, including Poland. Donald Tusk called the move “unacceptable.” The Prime Minister stated that this was in fact a “suspension of the functioning of the Schengen area”.
However, controls on the German-Polish border were already in force earlier, from October 2023. Then, temporary border controls were introduced Poland, Czech Republic, Austria i Switzerland.
When implementing the controls, the German authorities ensured that only those who present invalid or forged documents or who do not have an appropriate visa or residence permit will be refused entry to Germany.