A “mistake” has been called Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, emphasising his country’s disagreement on the matter.
Sikorski has argued that decisions on the control of the Schengen Zone should not be made by one country, Schengen.News reports.
“The introduction of control is a mistake since the actual place of control over the influx of illegal migrants both to Poland and to Germany is the external border of the Schengen area,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski
Noting that Poland does not accept Germany’s decision, the Minister said that his country is thinking about how to respond to it, according to Gazeta Prawna.
Border Controls Effectively Prevent Unwanted Entries
Arguing that controls at Germany’s land borders would help the country halt irregular migration, German police began controls at all land borders on September 16.
Introducing the new changes, Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, said the decision would affect as few commuters as possible, people in the border regions, trade, and the economy.
Arguing that the introduction of border controls is effectively helping the country to prevent unwanted entries, the Deputy federal chairman of the Federal Police Union, Manuel Ostermann, said that Schengen has failed.
According to him, a large number of migrants travel across the European Union through safe third countries to seek asylum in Germany. He considered these “facts” as an “impressive proof” of the failure of Schengen for the time being.
Controversies Arise Among EU Countries
Recently, the former Polish ambassador to Berlin, Andrzej Byrt, told TVP World that Berlin’s new measures have brought logistical problems in the EU, affecting Poland, particularly, whose fleet of commercial trucks is the largest in the EU.
At the same time, the Prime Minister of Czechia, Petr Fiala, said that more needs to be done in Europe in terms of irregular migration.
According to Fiala, Czechia and Poland have “a similarly negative view” regarding Germany’s decision.
The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, also agreed with Fiala’s comments. Tusk previously criticised the reintroduction of border controls by Germany.
Authorities in Greece also expressed their disagreement regarding Germany’s decision, fearing that it could lead to a surge in the number of irregular migrants.
Source: https://schengen.news/poland-calls-a-mistake-germanys-land-border-controls-introduction/
