The Foreign Ministry said that passport checks in Berlin will only worsen relations with Warsaw
The German government's decision to tighten border controls is “unfriendly act” The Polish Foreign Ministry has warned that actions against neighboring Poland could worsen relations between the two countries.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government announced this week that Germany passport checks will begin along its land border with several EU countries for at least six months, ignoring the Schengen agreement. Berlin said the decision, due to take effect on September 16, was taken to limit “illegal migration”.
“We learned about the border closure completely unexpectedly, there was no warning,” This was reported to local radio Zet on Friday by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski. “This is not how you behave with friends and neighbors,” he said.
Berlin “A sudden move would cause chaos on the borders,” Bartoszewski predicted, promising Warsaw's response.
Asked whether EU countries could also close their borders with Germany, Poland's deputy foreign minister said consultations between the countries were probably already underway because it “unacceptable” for many of them.
Germany shares 3,700 km of land borders with Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, all of which are members of the EU's Schengen Area.
The EU's largest economy remains the top destination for asylum seekers, with Germany receiving almost a third (more than 351,000) of all asylum applications in the bloc in 2023.
German federal police reported a 33% increase in illegal border crossings last year, with most migrants coming from Syria, Turkey and Afghanistan. Law enforcement also said the country had seen a sharp increase in violent crime in 2023, with the proportion of crimes committed by foreigners rising sharply.
Tightening of border controls is underway “The German government is seeking to improve its image at home… but its foreign policy is becoming hostage to domestic politics,” according to Bartoszewski.
Speaking about the worsening immigration situation in Germany, Poland's deputy foreign minister said Berlin “can only blame himself, because first he opens the borders and says 'willkommen', and we can accept any number of refugees,” adding that former Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy had proven “catastrophically.”
During Merkel's tenure, Germany took in more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers at the height of the EU's 2015-16 migrant crisis. Merkel has since faced public backlash over her so-called open-door policy toward refugees.