Germany Announces Temporary Border Restrictions
German officials will begin imposing land border restrictions at all its borders on September 16 to push back against irregular migration. (Wikimedia Commons)
German authorities announced on September 9 that they would be enacting temporary border restrictions starting September 16, dealing a striking blow to the open border Schengen Area throughout Europe. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated that the restrictions would be in place for at least six months to curb irregular immigration and that they would allow local authorities to turn people around at the border.
Germany is centrally located within the European Union (EU) and is bordered by nine countries, all of which will now be subjugated to stricter border checks. Germany has implemented stricter control along its border with Austria since 2015 and implemented controls along its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland in 2023. Germany’s newest border controls will be implemented along its borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark.
Germany’s temporary border controls are a blow to Europe’s open border Schengen Area and will test the strength of European unity. Europe created the Schengen Area, which allows for the free movement between countries without border controls and passport checks, in 1985. It permits temporary border checks during emergencies or if there are serious threats to internal security and public policy. 25 of the EU’s 27 members are a part of the Schengen Area, along with four non-EU member states. The Schengen plan states that the “reintroduction of border control at the internal borders must be applied as a last resort measure, in exceptional situations, and must respect the principle of proportionality.” Germany has expressed that their temporary controls are to keep Germany safe from “irregular migration” and “Islamist terrorism and serious crime.” Faeser stated that “until we achieve stronger border protection with the joint European asylum system, we must further protect our national borders."
Germany claims that their temporary border restrictions are a response to irregular migration. However, many believe they are the middle left government’s response to the recent electoral victories of the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The AfD recently won elections in the eastern state of Thuringia and saw a surge in other local elections. This was the first time that a far-right party has won regional elections since WWII. Additionally, federal elections will be held in 2025, so many see this move by the center-left government as a way to appease those with anti-immigration sentiment before the elections.
The new temporary border controls may also be a direct response to a knife attack on August 23 that killed three people in Solingen, Germany. The suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who has ties to Islamic extremist groups. This attack has stirred up even more anti-immigration sentiment, particularly from the Middle East and Northern Africa region.
The AfD has accused the government of being soft on immigration, a sentiment shared across the country in the wake of Europe’s cost-of-living crisis. The sentiment has gained popularity since Germany, a country of 84 million people, granted asylum to about one million people who fled Ukraine at the beginning of Russia’s invasion in 2022. Germany now faces both an energy and economic crisis. Germany has since tightened their deportation rules. In enacting border controls with Austria, Germany has been able to return 30,000 migrants since October 2023. Asylum applications in Germany have fallen 21.7 percent in the first eight months of 2024 after other border controls were enacted along Germany’s border with Poland, Czech Republic, and Switzerland in 2023.
Even though these border restrictions will take effect only in Germany, theirrepercussions are likely to be felt across the EU and may have a long-term impact on its cohesion. Germany is the geographical and economic center of the EU. 240,000 people commute to-and-from the country every day for work. The increase in border security will likely mean an increase in the number and length of border checks, which would increase traffic and create congested entry points into Germany. Additionally, there is the question of what will happen to the asylum seekers who are turned away at the German border. The Austrian government has already stated that they will not take any of the immigrants who will be refused by Germany.
Germany’s temporary border restrictions could also set off a chain reaction of closing borders across the EU. Other countries with rising anti-immigration sentiment, such as France or Poland, may follow suit in tightening restrictions on their borders. This could destroy the progress that Europe has made towards unity through the EU and may mark a return to pre-Schengen tight borders.