Controls at the internal border of the Schengen area are, according to Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN), an extreme measure. “We don’t have to approach it at this moment,” said the Austrian at today’s meeting with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. The main topic of their meeting was the regime on the Czech-German border. The German minister said that open borders are important for citizens in everyday life and she would not like to change that. That is why Germany abandoned the reintroduction of controls, she added.
“We did everything to improve the security situation even without closing the borders,” Faeser said.
The minister announced on Thursday that Germany is strengthening police patrols at the borders with the Czech Republic and Poland due to illegal migration. The police will be supplemented by mobile units and the police will conduct so-called hidden random checks more intensively. Two weeks ago, the Austrian said that he did not expect that Germany would introduce regular checks on the border with the Czech Republic due to migration.
In April, according to earlier data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the German police recorded the most cases of illegal crossing of the border in the direction of Poland – there were 2,427 of them. They recorded less than 1,300 on the border with Austria and nine hundred on the border with the Czech Republic.
Saxon Interior Minister Armin Schuster said that migration is a huge problem that has a significant impact on Saxony. The greatest pressure is on the German-Polish border. The number of illegal migrants crossing the Czech-Saxon border has decreased significantly, which is no coincidence, Schuster said, pointing to the Austrian, who recalled that the Czech Republic introduced checks on the Czech-Slovak border last year. “This reduced the pressure on us, we feel it in Saxony and we are also grateful for it,” he said. Thanks to the checks, according to the Austrian, the number of people transiting through the Czech Republic dropped by 98 percent, which was also reflected on the Czech-German border. “Currently, the situation is stabilized,” he said.
According to Interior Minister Schuster, Saxony will concentrate on the Polish-German border. He thanked Faeser for being willing to deal with what was troubling Saxony. According to the minister, the number of illegal migrants who were detained on the territory of Saxony and are equipped with Belarusian passports increased by 68 percent. According to Faeserová, it is necessary to realize what the introduction of controls would mean for the lives of residents and traders. According to her, it is appropriate to transfer good experiences from the German-Czech border to the German-Polish border.
According to the Austrian, the Czech Republic was active at the very beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. “That’s why we introduced controls at the Czech-Slovak border, that was our reaction. Joint patrols are now working on the Slovak side, they are already checking trains there, so we have no problem with returning migrants,” said the Austrian.
Faeserová had previously rejected the demands of the representatives of Saxony and Brandenburg to introduce permanent controls at the borders with the Czech Republic and Poland. He insists that such a step would be a serious threat to public order and internal security and considers it a “measure of last resort”.
Slovakia has now introduced temporary controls at the borders with the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Hungary, in order to ensure public order and security during the international conference in Bratislava and also the event of the Hells Angels motorcycle club. The period of possible checks will last until June 8.
According to Posselt, Sudeten Germans refuse border controls with the Czech Republic
The Sudeten Germans refuse to reintroduce border controls with the Czech Republic. Bernd Posselt, head of the Sudeten Germans, announced this today in Regensburg on the occasion of the starting Sudeten German congress. He added that he was glad that Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder did not join Saxony and Brandenburg’s demands. Saxony and Brandenburg also want checks on the border with Poland.
“We Sudeten Germans are strongly against the introduction of stationary checks on the German-Czech border, as the Prime Ministers of Saxony and Brandenburg unfortunately request. I’m glad Markus Söder didn’t join them,” said Posselt. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala held talks with Söder in Bavaria about two weeks ago, who told him that Bavaria does not demand stationary checks on the border with the Czech Republic. Söder justified this, among other things, by the fact that the Czech Republic protects its borders well.
“I am definitely against controls. And at the Sudeten German convention, we will emphasize that we Sudeten Germans do not want any border controls between Bavaria and Bohemia in the heart of Europe. This does not belong to Europe, it is not European, it is anti-European,” added Posselt.
This month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed with the premiers of the federal states that, depending on the migration situation, Germany could introduce temporary border controls with its neighbors, along the lines of those it has implemented on the border with Austria since 2015. However, these controls are not across the entire length of the border with Austria, but only at selected crossing points.
Source: Zprávy – Tiscali.cz by zpravy.tiscali.cz.
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