Germany’s Union Parties Demand Internal Border Controls With Switzerland and Czechia
In their most recent request, the Union parties have demanded the reintroduction of border controls with Switzerland and the Czech Republic, in order to combat the increasing number of irregular entries into Germany, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
As the Federal Ministry of the Interior has responded that currently there is no reason to impose such measures, the Union is now working on a motion on the matter, which it intends to introduce at Bundestag – the German federal parliament.
Commenting on the motion, Christoph de Vries, a parliament member from the CDU, said that the number of irregular arrivals from the borders with Switzerland and Czechia has increased recently, while the municipalities are already overburdened.
The Chairman of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, has also pointed out the high number of irregular migrants in Germany, who are putting pressure on the asylum system of the country.
“In Germany, we have at least 300,000 people who are enforceably obliged to leave the country and they are neither returned nor deported. Nothing happens. We urgently need consistent protection of Europe’s external borders and consistent returns,” he had written on April 23 on his official Twitter account.
According to the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), since the beginning of 2023, until the end of March, 87,777 people have applied for asylum in Germany, 80,978 of which for the first time, while the rest were repeated applications.
Germany currently has existing border controls with Austria, which have been extended to November this year. Controls at these borders have prevented 14,675 from entering Germany irregularly in 2022.
However, stopping irregular entries at the borders with Switzerland and Czechia is not possible due to the absence of internal border checks with these two countries.
“Since 2022, the federal police have noticed a continuously increasing trend in relation to illegal entries,” the Federal Police have revealed.
The same notes that in the first quarter of 2023, a total of 3,063 irregular entries took place via Switzerland and 1,516 via the Czech Republic.
Border controls, however, have been criticized by many, including Pro Asyl, a refugee aid organization which is based in Frankfurt, Germany. According to the same, the continuous extension of internal border controls is against the spirit of the EU and against its laws.
Announcing the extension of border controls with Austria on April 15, the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Feaser, told the EU Commission in a letter that due to the high number of irregular migrants, border controls were essential for the security of Germany, which in 2022 was the EU country with the highest number of asylum applications received.
