Border controls: Poland responds to Germany with new measures!

Border controls: Poland responds to Germany with new measures!

Vorpommern-Greifswald, Deutschland - The situation on the German-Polish border continues to come to a head. Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Siemoniak has announced today that Poland will introduce increased border controls from July 7 to August 5, 2025. These measures are a direct consequence of Germany's procedure, where asylum seekers have been rejected at the border since May 2023. The controls in particular should include travelers, commuters and trucks, which will affect the commuters who are traveling between the two countries every day. Brandenburg's interior minister Martin Wilke warned of a "ping pong game", in which people could be sent back and forth between Germany and Poland, which could further tighten the already tense situation. [Deutschlandfunk] (https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/keine- Grenzkonrollen-wenn-schehland-zicht-108.html) reports that these new controls are also raising concerns about the humanitarian situation.

What is happening in concrete terms now? The border controls in Poland are applied to various means of transport such as buses, minibuses and cars. Signs are set up to slow down the traffic and narrow them. Despite these controls, the entry requirements remain unchanged; A identity card continues to meet travel between Poland and Germany. However, this leads to long waiting times and traffic jams on the Polish side, since around 13,000 people commute from Poland to Saxony and over 14,000 to Brandenburg every day. ProSieben has highlighted that the travel and commuter flows could be significantly hindered.

background of the controls

The introduction of controls on both sides also has domestic backgrounds. The Polish government under the PIS opposition party uses the topic to strengthen its position. At the same time, the German federal government is pushing for a harder migration policy, which is underlined by the demand for additional staff at the border. According to reports from the Tagesschau, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has already sent 3,000 additional civil servants to prevent unauthorized entry. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of asylum applications fell by 46% compared to the previous year, which increases the pressure on political leadership.

The rejection of people at the border, despite asylum application, has already counted 160 affected people in the first four weeks after the change of government. Dobrindt himself sees an integrative approach to containing irregular migration. However, trade unionists warn of a high burden on the federal police and there are always critical voices on these measures, especially according to a judgment of the Berlin Administrative Court, which declared the procedure as illegal.

Overall, it remains to be seen how the situation develops further. The one -sided measures of Germany and Poland could lead to an even more pressing political dialogue in the region, or to persistent chaos at the limits. One thing is certain: the topic of migration will be busy for a long time.