Luxembourg to Challenge German Border Controls in EU, Home Affairs Minister Says

Luxembourg will object to Germany’s border controls with the European Union if they are extended in the spring, the Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden said.

The Minister’s statements come in response to Germany’s Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, previous comments that border controls may be extended beyond mid-March 2025, when the measure is scheduled to end, Schengen.News reports. 

According to Minister Faeser, the border controls are resulting effectively in combating irregular migration. 

Despite this, Luxembourg’s Home Affairs Minister said that if border controls are renewed in April, his country will approach the Commission, calling this measure “absurd”. 

According to Minister Gloden, border checks go against the idea of the Schengen Zone, Luxembourg Times explains.

Mass Protests in Germany Amid Tightening Immigration Rules Efforts 
Last week, the leader of Germany’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Friedrich Merz, was subject to strong criticism for accepting support from the far-right party to pass the bill in parliament for tougher immigration rules.

However, another bill was strongly rejected on Friday, and both bills led to mass protests in Germany. 

Protests that took over the streets of Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, and Leipzig threw accusations to Merz and his Christian Democrats of breaching Germany’s unwritten rule that the democratic parties should not pass regulations and laws with the support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfG), as reported by VOA. 

Implementation of Permanent Border Controls 
The frontrunner in the race to become Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, last month pledged new changes to the immigration policy. Among the new changes was the implementation of permanent border controls.

The figures from Germany’s Interior Ministry, provided last month, revealed that a total of 43,500 people were turned away from Germany over the past 15 months due to border controls. 

The figures from the Ministry also revealed that from September 16, 2024, when Germany’s border controls became effective, until November 2024, 49 Luxembourg nationals were refused entry to Germany due to border controls.

Source: https://schengen.news/luxembourg-to-challenge-german-border-controls-in-eu-home-affairs-minister-says/