The German Interior Ministry has welcomed Poland’s announcement to extend temporary border controls on its frontiers with Germany and Lithuania until October 4th.
A spokesperson for the Ministry, responding to inquiries from the dts news agency in Berlin on Monday, stated that Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) had previously emphasized the importance of Poland’s border controls along the Lithuanian and German borders as a vital element of a joint strategy to address irregular migration. This assessment remains unchanged and the Ministry welcomes the Polish government’s decision to prolong these measures.
Regarding Germany’s own security measures, the spokesperson affirmed the ongoing evaluation that intensified border controls along all of Germany’s land borders are contributing to the implementation of the country’s shift in migration policy. A noticeable decrease in asylum application numbers compared to the previous year is being observed and this course of action will be continued.
Recent visits by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to various federal states have not prominently featured discussions about border controls. Deputy Government Spokesperson Sebastian Hille, also responding to dts inquiries, indicated that the topic did not arise during the visit to Saarland last week. This suggests that the measures are not posing any apparent issues or causing friction within the region.
It is worth noting that Anke Rehlinger, the Minister-President of Saarland (SPD), has previously expressed reservations regarding the intensified border controls. Saarland has transitioned towards a system of mobile border patrols rather than fixed checkpoints.