Poland's border controls start today: This is what travelers need to know!

Poland's border controls start today: This is what travelers need to know!

In Poland, temporary controls at the border with Germany began today. This measure affects a total of 52 crossings and is scheduled to last until August 5th. The focus is particularly on buses, minibuses and cars with many occupants, as diesachsen.de reports. The checks began at midnight, encouraging travelers to always have their ID card or passport to hand.

The border controls are being introduced in response to Germany's more restrictive measures. Random controls have been in place at the border with Poland since October 2023 to stop irregular migration. Germany's Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) ordered more intensive border controls in May, which have a significant impact on the situation at the border.

The effects of German border controls

The first balance sheet of German border controls shows a clear response: in the week after the change of government, the federal police turned back 739 people at the border, including 51 who were seeking asylum. In the second week, this number rose to 1,676 rejections, 123 of these applications were rejected, reports zdf.de. It appears that the measures are having an effect, as irregular migration to Germany is declining.

In 2023, almost 130,000 illegal entries were registered, while only a good 80,000 are expected for 2024 - a decline of over a third. The projection for 2025 even points to the lowest level since 2021. However, researchers from DeZIM e.V. criticize that the numbers collected are not very transparent and appear selective.

The situation at the European external border

Not only is the situation at the border with Germany affected, other EU borders are also experiencing changes. Controls at the border with Lithuania are already being planned. The reasons for the decline in unauthorized entries are diverse: More stable conditions in the countries of origin such as Syria, tougher EU external protection and cooperation with third countries, especially in North Africa, play a decisive role, as stated in the reports.

In addition, German authorities recorded a notable increase in detections of unauthorized entries in 2023: 127,549 cases, an increase of 38.7% compared to the previous year, according to bamf.de.

Although the economic costs of border controls are estimated at 27.6 million euros from September to December for a short period, it is expected that in the long term follow-up costs of up to 1.1 billion euros could arise from disruptions in the movement of goods. This high burden raises the question of how sustainable and effective the border controls actually are.

In view of these developments, the political discussions surrounding the issue of asylum and migration remain a hot topic. Whether these measures really bring the hoped-for security or are just a plaything of political interests remains to be seen. The situation at the borders remains tense, but one thing is certain: the controls have brought a new pulse to the debate about migration.