Nationwide German border controls come into effect
Controls at all of Germany’s land borders will come into effect on Monday, in an attempt to combat illegal migration and cross-border crime.
The Interior minister said on Sunday that the checks, first announced last week, would be “targeted” to avoid congestion, something that neighbouring countries had expressed concern about.
Interior minister Nancy Faeser told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that police would carry out random checks, “flexibly and according to current security requirements”. The scope and duration of the controls will also depend on this and will be coordinated with neighbouring countries.
She said the authorities want to cause as little disruption as possible to people and businesses in the border region, though conceded there would be inconvenience in places. Travellers are advised to keep their identity documents ready when crossing the border.
The locations of checks on Monday are not yet known. Germany shares borders with nine countries, including Belgium. The Belgian border is about 160km long, with the main crossings at Eynatten, along the A3 Liège-Aachen, and Steinebruck, along the E42 towards Mainz.
Traffic disruption
Belgium’s federal police confirmed on Sunday that there had been close contact with German colleagues in recent days about possible controls. Where and when these will take place could not be disclosed, but possible traffic disruption is being taken into account, a spokesperson said. He also said that Belgian police would not carry out checks, only German police.
Checks are already in place at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland. Temporary checks were carried out at the border with France during the Olympics and Paralympics. These will now be extended to the borders with Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
Danish police are warning of traffic jams as a result. Roadworks are taking place at the crossing on the E45 motorway which links the two countries, forcing all traffic to use one lane. The works are due to last at least until November.
An officer from the Bavarian border police checks a driver's documents at a checkpoint during a press event, 5 September 2024 © PHOTO MATTHIAS BALK / DPA
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