Andreas Roßkopf, the president of the Federal Police in the German Police Union (GdP), has expressed concerns about the increasing border controls and refusals of asylum seekers. He believes that there should be clear time limits for the police measures. “We can only achieve this by adjusting duty schedules, suspending current unit training and temporarily stopping overtime reductions” Roßkopf said in an interview with the Funke Media Group’s Monday newspapers. “It is clear that the intensified controls can only be maintained for a few more weeks.” He also mentioned that over 1,000 readiness police officers have been deployed in the border region for several days. Roßkopf emphasized that the police union supports the government’s efforts to reduce “irregular migration to Germany through border controls by the Federal Police.”
Following his appointment, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) ordered an intensification of border controls. At the same time, he authorized the refusal of asylum seekers at the border, in line with the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD, which states that this can be done “in coordination with our European neighbors.