Germany and Poland have been at peace for decades, yet the border between the two is still fraught, with this new dispute arising largely due to migration. Germany’s Friedrich Merz, expected to become the country’s new chancellor in just a few days, has announced that his country would tighten the external border on the first day of his chancellorship.
In response, Poland is warning Germany against this move, with Warsaw fearing that these tightened controls could make Polish commuters’ lives very difficult, reduce commerce, and potentially even increase migration pressure on Poland, according to German newspaper Welt.
Polish diplomat Jan Tombinski told Politico magazine that the current controls are already a “problem for daily border traffic and the functioning of the EU internal market. We therefore do not want to see any tightening of the border controls.”
The Polish government “naturally stands by our commitment to protecting Europe’s external borders—especially with Russia and Belarus,” the diplomat said. He also emphasized that “free movement within the European Schengen area (should) be maintained.”
Many migrants entering Poland make their way to Germany, which has become a problem for the German government. Polish conservatives accuse the ruling left-liberal government of quietly taking back thousands of these migrants from Germany, and in some cases, German police have been accused of “dumping” migrants back on Polish territory.
Tombinski, hinting that Poland may be willing to accept more of these migrants, said that his country will accept its “obligations under EU legislation,” including the new CEAS asylum policy.
The likely future head of the German chancellery, Thorsten Frei, told Spiegel: “We will intensify border controls and turn back those who have no right to enter Germany.” He said the federal police being supported at the border is “an essential point. It will have a short-term effect.”
In regard to the medium-term solution, Frei said he wants to regulate migration across the European continent so “that, on the one hand, we live up to our humanitarian responsibility and, on the other hand, prevent our societies from being overwhelmed,”
Designated German interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), said that new measures will be used to combat illegal immigration. “There is no doubt about my determination.” said Dobrindt, however, “borders will not be closed, but they will be more tightly controlled.”
The CDU, which fears the growing popularity of the AfD, played a huge role in the current immigration crisis when Angela Merkel first allowed over 1 million migrants to enter the country in 2015 and 2016, but now the party is attempting to talk tough on the issue.
“We have strong polarization in the country,” Dobrindt stated. “We have to reduce it. We can only achieve this if we get illegal migration under control.”
The Green Party is already trashing the move, stating that it is illegal and contrary to European law.
“I’m curious to see how long it will take this time for the courts to overturn this,” warned a Green Party member speaking to Welt.
Merz is headed to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw next week, where the issue will likely be discussed further.
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