Germany is extending temporary border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland until December 15, the county’s Interior Ministry announced on Monday, writes German news agency DPA.
There are normally no regular border controls or document checks along any of Germany’s borders since all of the country’s neighbours are in the visa-free Schengen Area.
But Germany has reimposed border checks along its southern and eastern borders in an effort to stop unauthorized migration.
A ministry spokesman told dpa on Monday that the extension of the border checks would be reported to the European Commission in Brussels but that controls are expected to continue, especially along the German-Polish border.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser ordered police to begin carrying out stationary border controls along the frontier with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland on October 16.
Similar border controls along the German-Austrian border have been in place on a supposedly temporary basis since 2015.
Since October 16, around 3,300 unauthorized entries have been detected at the border with Poland and 1,100 unauthorized entries have been prevented, the spokesman said.
“This means that these measures are working and will continue to do so,” he said.
If someone is apprehended at the border and makes it clear that they want to apply for asylum, they are generally allowed to enter the country, the spokesman said.
The overall aim of the controls is to “put a stop to the increasingly unscrupulous and brutal smuggling of migrants,” the ministry spokesman said.
