The number of people being stopped at Germany's borders has increased "significantly," confirmed Germany’s Interior Minister on Thursday. Germany is also sending more people back to other EU countries, according to the Interior Ministry.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has confirmed that the number of people being stopped at Germany’s borders "increased significantly" in April and May this year, reported the German press agency dpa.
This increase is based on a comparison with the numbers stopped at the border before October 2023, when Germany increased the number of border controls.
The information came to light following a request from the opposition politician Christoph de Vries from the CDU party.
In April and May 2024, almost 3,000 people were stopped at Germany’s land borders with Poland, Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. This represents about a 90 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.
At the same time, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) registered a decrease in the number of those applying for asylum in the first half of the year. 121,416 new applications were lodged, 19 percent fewer than the same period in 2023.
Additional controls extended several times
There have been controls in place at the Austrian-German border since 2015, but in October 2023, Faeser added more controls at the borders with Poland, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Border controls within the Schengen zone are only meant as a temporary measure, since the idea behind Schengen is that there should be free movement of people and goods within the zone. However, since the additional controls were put in place in October 2023, they have been extended several times. Currently, they are due to last until at least December 15 this year.
Most recently during the European Football Championships that Germany held for a month between June and July. Those special controls are due to stop this Friday (July 19), but some of them will continue.
Controls on border with France continue
With the Olympic games about to start in neighboring France, Faeser has confirmed that border controls will continue at the border between France and Germany on land and for flights at least until September 30.
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said, "we are working closely with our French colleagues to ensure that a high degree of security is maintained." Dpa reported that the German measures were in line with French ones already taken and were designed to support France.
The controls, said the spokesperson, helped to recognize and stop any potential criminals before they could act. The controls are designed to be carefully based on risk assessments and targeted, they are not meant to be placing blanket controls on everyone crossing the border. Many people cross the border every day, for work, trade and visiting friends and family. The controls are designed to have as little effect as possible on these people, underlined the Interior Ministry spokesperson.
Targeted controls will also continue where needed on the borders with Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Dublin regulation
In line with the increase in people being stopped, Germany was also able to send more people back to other EU states, where they had already begun their application for asylum. Under the so-called Dublin regulation, asylum seekers have to apply for asylum in the first EU state they enter. If it is found that they are attempting to apply for asylum again in a second state, they can be sent back to the first state to complete the process there.
De Vries told dpa that he believed that the increased controls were responsible for putting off people who might be tempted to try and smuggle migrants across the border. In 2023, German police stopped 290 smuggling suspects in April and May. In the same period this year, that figure stood at 203, reported dpa.
