The controls introduced at all German EU‑internal borders in September 2024 have cost the country 140 million euros by the end of December last year, according to a response from the Federal Interior Ministry to a parliamentary inquiry by the SPD‑ and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen‑member Clara Bürger. The news was picked up by the newspapers of the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”.
The ministry described the figure as “operational additional costs” incurred by the Bundespolizei for overtime, allowances, the running of border‑control posts, material consumption and for accommodation and catering. By the end of June 2025 the ministry had already recorded costs of 80.5 million euros; the second half of 2025 added another 59.5 million euros, the ministry says. It notes that the overtime figure is a “computational figure” and would become cash‑effective only if officers’ overtime were not compensated in lieu of time within 12 months. Excluding the overtime costs, the ministry states that 78.2 million euros were spent.
Between 5 August and 31 December 2025, the ministry reported that 14 129 people were refused entry at German land borders, including 552 asylum seekers.
Clara Bürger, the left‑party’s spokesperson on migration policy, called the new numbers “devastating”. She described the 140 million‑euro spend as “illegal border controls whose practical effect and legality are highly questionable” and said that “this expensive symbolic deterrent policy is no longer affordable”. Bürger urged an immediate halt to the costly, allegedly illegal border checks, instead of citing supposed budget shortcomings to restrict access to integration courses.