Europe criticizes Germany’s border control expansion and refugee return policy

Germany’s introduction of stricter controls at land borders to reduce migration and combat “Islamic extremism” has sparked anger in some neighbouring countries.

Countries such as Austria and Poland have announced that they will no longer accept refugees returned from Germany.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser previously announced that stricter border controls would be in place starting September 16. The plan, which would last six months, will allow authorities to send back more refugees directly from Germany’s borders.

Germany has already introduced border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. The restrictions apply to the borders with Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria.

Germany’s land borders are subject to controls, effectively a partial suspension of the Schengen Agreement. Germany has informed its neighbours of its new decision.

Ms Faeser said the new measures mean there will be the possibility of both permanent and mobile border controls at all German borders, including the possibility of sending back refugees on the basis of European and national laws.

She stressed that “more precise monitoring of national borders is necessary “until we achieve precise protection of the EU’s external borders with the new European asylum system and other measures.”

The Daily Mail reported that many European countries support stricter border controls in the EU to manage migration into the bloc. However, Germany’s new decision to send refugees back to neighbouring countries has not been well received by other European countries.

Austrian officials have said they will not accept refugees that Berlin wants to send back without a formal agreement. The Austrian foreign minister said: “I have instructed the federal police not to allow the return of refugees. Austria will not accept those who have been sent back from Germany.”

The Polish prime minister also condemned the measures as “unacceptable” and said Poland would consult with other affected countries. He added: “From Poland’s perspective, such actions are unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, Czech media report that Germany’s new border policy poses a threat to the Schengen Agreement and the principles of free movement within Europe.

Germany has justified the border controls to the European Commission as necessary for “the protection of internal security against the current threat of Islamist terrorism and transnational crime.”

Germany’s stricter border controls are raising tensions between its European neighbours and concerns about the impact on the Schengen Agreement. The reactions from other countries underscore the challenge of balancing national security with cooperative migration policy in the EU.