The Germans would reinstate border controls, their neighbors are not happy

Germans plan to strengthen their borders 10 years after they were the ones who opened the doors of Europe.

The German Christian Democrats are advocating for Germany to reintroduce permanent border controls – reported Euractiv.

“Border controls must be resumed at all German state borders”

– wrote Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder in an opinion piece published in Bild, referring to the temporary controls introduced during the European Football Championship. The CDU is currently in opposition in Germany, but they are the favorites for the 2025 federal elections. However, not only the Christian Democrats but also the liberals support border controls, prioritizing the fight against irregular migration.

Germany’s eastern neighbors are not happy

Since 2015, the Germans have tightened controls at several borders, and their eastern neighbors do not want even stricter measures. “This would represent a radical departure from current legislation and from the Schengen principle itself, which would undoubtedly lead to a domino effect of checks throughout the whole of Schengen” – said Hana Malá, spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of the Interior to Euractiv.

So far, Berlin has implemented controls at the Czech, Polish, and Austrian borders, as this year has seen the highest number of irregular migration since 2016.

Some EU countries, like Denmark, do not mind the possibility of border controls, and a Danish government spokesperson said that not much would change after their implementation.

However, the Belgian government expressed its disapproval.

“For a country like ours, which is located in the heart of Europe and whose economy is very open, the smooth functioning of the Schengen area is of fundamental importance” – said a Belgian government spokesperson to Euractiv.

The German Greens are also not pleased with the idea and sent a letter of complaint directly to Ursula von der Leyen over the development. In the letter, they argued that border controls do not comply with EU law.