Germany to increase internal border controls with Czechia, Poland and Switzerland until mid-December

Germany has announced plans to extend its current internal border controls with Czechia, Poland and Switzerland until mid-December.

According to a spokesperson for the Federal Interior Ministry, Minister Feser wants to extend border checks until December 15 due to concerns about irregular migration and smuggling. SchengenVisaInfo.com Report.

The EU Commission will be informed about the extension soon, the spokesperson said during a press conference in Berlin. Also stressed that such a measure is necessary.

Germany began imposing strict border measures with the three countries earlier this year. The strict measures have proven effective and for this reason, the Interior Ministry said it is important that they continue to take them.

In particular, the ministry said that the measures on the Polish border are necessary and they should remain in effect as long as necessary.

Internal border checks with Poland were introduced on October 16, and data shows that since then, authorities have prevented unauthorized entries of approximately 1,100 individuals.

The number of irregular entries has also been high at the German-Swiss border. For this reason, border checks with Switzerland will also be increased.

According to data provided by the Federal Police, a total of 2,245 migrants were caught attempting to cross the German-Swiss border in October this year.

While it is still too early and difficult to tell whether the measures will reduce the number of irregular entries, officials have said they will certainly play an important role in detecting smugglers.

A total of 15 smugglers have been arrested since the start of internal border checks with Switzerland, police said.

According to nationwide data, the authority said a total of 230 smugglers have been caught across all borders of the country since the checks were implemented.

Border checks are currently underway in several other Schengen member states, including Austria, Poland, Czechia and Finland.

Just last month, Austria decided to maintain its border controls with Hungary and Slovenia for the next six months.

The Austrian Interior Ministry said the investigation would remain in place until May 2024, adding that the measure was extended with the aim of combating terrorism and human trafficking across borders.

Both Czechia and Poland have increased their border controls with Slovakia. Czechia said it will maintain border controls with Slovakia until January 3, 2024And Poland said it will keep them there until January 2, 2024.