Germany’s expansion of border controls testing European unity

WARSAW (AP):

The German government says it is cracking down on irregular migration and crime following recent extremist attacks, and plans to extend temporary border controls to all nine of its frontiers next week.

Last month, a deadly knife attack by a Syrian asylum seeker in Soligen killed three people. The perpetrator claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State group. In June, a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left a police officer dead and four other people wounded.

The border closures are set to last six months and are threatening to test European unity. Most of Germany’s neighbours are fellow members of the European Union, a 27-country bloc based on the principles of free trade and travel. And Germany – the EU’s economic motor in the heart of Europe – shares more borders with other countries than any other member state.

Closures ‘unacceptable’

The Polish prime minister on Tuesday denounced the closures as “unacceptable”, and Austria said it won’t accept migrants rejected by Germany.

The EU bloc has a visa-free travel area known as Schengen that allows citizens of most EU countries to travel easily across borders for work and pleasure. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland also belong to Schengen even though they are not EU members.

According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce controls at the EU’s so-called internal borders in case of a serious threat, such as one to internal security. But it also says border controls should be applied as a last resort in exceptional situations, and must be time-limited.

Such limitations are often put in place during major sporting events, including the recent Olympic Games in Paris and the European soccer championship this summer.

Nine countries border Germany and all are part of Schengen. Germany already imposed restrictions last year at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.

Germany’s interior ministry on Monday ordered the extension of checks at those borders, as well as controls at borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the aim was to limit irregular migration and protect the nation from “the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime”.

The government and many Germans welcomed refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere from 2015-16, when more than one million asylum seekers entered the country.

But as large-scale migration to Europe continues nearly a decade later, a backlash is fuelling the growth of far-right parties.

Some people say social services are overwhelmed, and extremist attacks by asylum seekers have led to security fears. It has added up to growing support for firmer immigration policies — and in some cases, backing for the far-right parties that champion such limits.

The unpopular coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying to crack down on irregular immigration after the far right did well in two recent state elections in eastern Germany. Another comes on September 22 in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin.

As the EU’s largest economy, Germany is a key trading partner for neighbours. The interior ministry’s announcement has prompted economic worries for the main Dutch transportation lobby group, the Dutch Association for Transport and Logistics. It said the decision was undermining the Schengen principle of free trade and it fears major economic damage.

Slovenia, Austria and Italy also have extended temporary border controls in some areas or all along their frontiers.