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Germany expands ’emergency’ border checks to cover all nine neighbours

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Germany has started checks at borders with five more European countries in an effort to crack down on “irregular” migration and guard against Islamist threats.

Police are now checking vehicles at the land frontier with France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The checks are due to last six months and follow similar inspections, in place since last year, at the Polish, Czech, Austrian and Swiss borders.

Germany announced the expanded system last week.

It follows the deaths by stabbing of three people in the city of Solingen last month – an attack blamed on a Syrian asylum seeker said to share the ideology of Islamic State.

A police officer was also killed by a failed Afghan asylum seeker in Mannheim in May.

The incidents sparked renewed debate around migration and in the aftermath of the Solingen attack the far-right Alternative for Germany party won a regional election.

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Germany’s restrictions are contrary to one of the EU’s key principles – free movement without border checks between member countries.

However, states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce them as a last resort, and for a limited time, if there is deemed to be a serious security threat.

Image:
A German officer checks a French car near the border with Belgium in Aachen. Pic: AP

Police – some carrying large firearms – were seen checking vehicles as the restrictions began on Monday, but traffic seemed to still be flowing freely.

Germany’s interior ministry said the new controls would be “targeted”, rather than applied to everyone, and applied flexibly, based on the latest security situation.

People are being advised to carry identification and non-EU citizens should have visas and entry documents to hand.

Image:
A bus is pulled over to be checked in Kehl. Pic: AP

Interior minister Nancy Faeser said the system was “intended to protect against the acute threat of Islamist extremist terrorism and serious cross-border crime”.

She said the first set of border restrictions had stopped 52,000 people gaining unauthorised entry to Germany and that asylum applications had dropped by a fifth.

Tighter restrictions come days before key vote

While the government argues these changes are for security and to limit irregular migration, they’re also a clear bid to stem support for far right and conservative parties ahead of state and federal elections.

Earlier this month, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party (AfD) became the first far-right party since World War Two to win a state election after claiming victory in Thuringia.

It’s also topping the polls in Brandenburg ahead of a vote this weekend.

Migration is among voters’ top concerns in the eastern German state where Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) are fighting to retain power.

A spate of knife attacks where the suspects are asylum seekers have again heightened concerns around immigration.

These worries, combined with frustration over the rising cost of living and a flailing economy, mean many people feel Germany, which traditionally takes in the most asylum seekers in the EU, needs to toughen its stance.

While the new measures have irked some EU Leaders including Greece’s prime minister – who warned the plan to impose tighter checks at its land borders amounted to unilaterally scrapping
Europe’s open-border Schengen zone – it appears domestic pressures are taking priority.

After a damning set of state election results at the start of the month, this weekend’s vote in the chancellor’s constituency will be viewed by many as another referendum on the embattled federal government.

A loss for the SPD in Brandenburg on Sunday would be first time it’s been ousted from power since reunification.

Although the Afd is polling top at the moment with around 28%, ahead of the SPD on 26%, that isn’t enough for a majority, and a pact by other parties not to cooperate with the party means it’s unlikely to gain total control of the state parliament.

Even so, getting fewer votes than the far right will be an embarrassing defeat for local SPD candidates and a bitter blow for the federal government ahead of a general election next year.

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The checks have caused concern among some of Germany’s neighbours, who fear a negative effect on trade and having to take in more asylum seekers.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is seeking urgent discussions with other countries affected by the measures.

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Austria’s chancellor has also said that if Germany sends more immigrants back across their border it will direct more people east toward the Balkans.

The checks with Austria are due to end on 11 November, while those affecting Poland, Switzerland and Czech Republic are slated to end in December.

However, Germany’s interior ministry has implied that an extension is likely.

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