German border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria will continue
The Federal Ministry of the Interior has prolonged the controls at the borders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. The aim remains to combat smuggling and limit irregular migration. Based on Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code, the controls will continue until December 15, 2024. Until November 11, 2024 this also applies for the border to Austria.
Federal Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser
“We continue to act consistently to stop the unscrupulous business of smugglers and limit irregular migration . To this end, we are continuing the controls at our land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland for another six months until mid-December 2024.”
Border controls: Significant decrease of unauthorized entries
Furthermore, the border police measures are carried out flexibly in terms of space and time and alternating along the smuggling routes, depending on the current situation . This is intended to prevent evasive movements by the smugglers.
The Federal Police can therefore continue to flexibly deploy the entire range of stationary and mobile border police measures. Since mid-October 2023, the federal police has arrested around 920 smugglers. Since October 16, 2023, as part of the temporarily reintroduced internal border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, the Federal Police has detected around 37,600 unauthorized entries and implemented around 23,000 measures to prevent entry or terminate residence . The number of unauthorized entries detected nationwide fell from around 21,000 in September 2023 to around 7,500 in April 2024 .
It is also clear that the higher efforts in effective border controls will have its further implications for smuggling and illicit trade.
In accordance with Dublin Regulation
As before, third-country nationals seeking protection are generally forwarded to the responsible initial reception center for the purpose of examining asylum issues, including possible transfers to other EU member states in accordance with the Dublin Regulation . This also applies to temporary internal border controls.
Source: Federal Ministry of Interior
