FDP will extend controls at all German borders - Faeser is against it

FDP will extend controls at all German borders - Faeser is against it

The controls at German borders during the EM were supposedly "temporarily limited and as a last resort" in the first place, a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior told "Bild am Sonntag." Germany was not planning to register for nationwide controls, the spokesperson added.

FDP faction leader Dürr, however, advocated for the continuation of border controls as a transitional measure until the planned EU asylum system is implemented. "Once we have a system that completely secures the European external borders, we can abolish border controls," Dürr told Funke Media Group. "But for now, it is a very effective instrument."

The Federal Police, according to the Police Union GdP, currently does not have the personnel, equipment, or sufficient resources to permanently secure all German borders. "Grenze controls during the EM functioned 100%," GdP chairman Andreas Roßkopf told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Saturday. "But it is not sustainable to protect the borders at this intensity."

The Greens also rejected the FDP proposal. Previous experiences with border controls have shown "how enormous the effort and how small the effect is," said the Greens' interior expert Marcel Emmerich to the Berlin "Tagesspiegel" on Sunday.

The special circumstance of the European Football Championship justified the controls - there was nothing more to it, said the Greens politician. "It's one thing to increase control pressure on hooligans, potential terrorists, and other criminals with temporary border controls. It's another thing to try and reduce migration with stationary controls along 2000 kilometers of internal borders for years."

The Union welcomed Dürr's proposal. The FDP politician had "understood that the security situation requires stronger border controls at Germany's borders beyond the European Football Championship," said the innenpolitischer spokesperson of the CDU/CSU Bundestagsfraktion, Alexander Throm (CDU).

Thanks to the intensified border controls of the Federal Police at all borders, approximately 150 smugglers were arrested and around 3,200 attempts to enter the country were prevented during the European Championship, Throm announced. "These numbers clearly demonstrate the value of border controls." Borders "remain open borders," Throm added.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had registered border controls with the European Union for the EM until July 19. After this period, there will be temporary border controls at the state borders to Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Poland, as there were before.

According to the Federal Police, approximately 22,000 Federal Police officers and Federal Police officers were in action daily during the EM - at the borders and also at the tournament venues.

According to the Federal Police, about one-third of the unauthorized entries at the borders to France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, and in sea and air traffic were detected. In the future, the Federal Police plans to use the "Schleierfahndung" instrument to set targeted controls against cross-border criminality in these areas, according to a report in the "BamS" from the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Federal Police will no longer be able to reject entries at the border in such cases.

1. Dürr, from the FDP, advocated for the FDP's proposal of continuing border controls as a transitional measure.
2. The Federal Police, according to Roßkopf, did not have the resources to permanently secure all German borders.
3. Emmerich, the Greens' interior expert, highlighted the small effect of past border control efforts.
4. Roßkopf praised the effectiveness of border controls during the European Football Championship.
5. Faeser registered border controls with the EU for the EM until July 19, followed by temporary controls at certain borders.
6. Throm announced that approximately 150 smugglers were arrested and 3,200 entry attempts were prevented due to intense border controls at the EM.
7. The special circumstances of the European Football Championship justified the temporary border controls, according to the Greens politician.
8. The CDU/CSU Bundestagsfraktion welcomed Dürr's proposal, acknowledging the need for stronger border controls.
9. The 'Schleierfahndung' instrument will be used by the Federal Police to target cross-border criminality in the future.
10. Germany, alongside France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia, and others, is part of the EU, requiring joint border control considerations.

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