Poland follows Germany in tightening borders against asylum-seekers

SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated borderline controls with Germany and Lithuania connected July 7, pursuing Germany's earlier reintroduction of checks aimed astatine deterring asylum-seekers.

The move, announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk past week, comes amid increasing governmental unit from far-right groups who impeach Germany of transferring migrants into Poland aft they get successful Western Europe.

The caller controls, which began overnight, volition initially stay successful spot for 30 days. However, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, Polish authorities person not ruled retired extending them.

"Illegal migration is simply a crime," said Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak astatine a quality conference. Within hours of the controls taking effect, Polish borderline guards intercepted what they described arsenic a smuggling effort by an Estonian nationalist transporting 4 Afghan migrants crossed the Lithuanian border, according to the Polish News Agency.

Speaking alongside Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Tusk defended the decision, saying it serves not lone Poland, but the broader EU: "We're doing this for you arsenic good — for the Germans, for the Dutch, for the French — due to the fact that this is the European Union border."

Border checks volition present beryllium enforced astatine 13 locations on Poland's 104-kilometer (65-mile) borderline with Lithuania, and astatine 52 crossing points on its 467-kilometer (290-mile) borderline with Germany. Lithuanian officials acknowledged the imaginable for postulation congestion but said they were prepared to negociate the situation. "If postulation begins to physique up, we volition commencement managing the travel to minimize disruptions," said Antanas Montvydas, lawman caput of Lithuania's State Border Guard Service.

In May, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who campaigned connected a stricter migration policy, boosted constabulary beingness astatine the German-Polish borderline and signaled that immoderate asylum-seekers would beryllium turned away. Merz said past week that Germany and Poland are moving unneurotic to minimize disruptions caused by borderline checks.

"Border extortion against irregular migration is simply a shared involvement of Germany, Poland, and different European neighbors," said Merz's spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, this week. "We bash not privation imperishable borderline controls."

The Schengen Area — a visa-free question portion encompassing astir EU countries and non-member Switzerland — allows for casual cross-border movement. However, nether EU law, subordinate states whitethorn temporarily reintroduce controls successful effect to superior threats, specified arsenic interior information risks. These measures indispensable beryllium exceptional, time-limited, and proportionate.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda emphasized that specified controls should stay temporary. "Poland's determination shows that we are inactive acold from being capable to perfectly power the EU's outer borders," helium said, calling for the swift decision of specified measures erstwhile their objectives are met.