2024-02-20
Germany and Austria prolong their border controls
The German Ministry of the Interior has notified the European Commission about the extension of temporary checks along the country\'s internal land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland until June 15. Austria has done the same along its land border with the Czech Republic until April 16.
Germany
Border controls have been prolonged to combat smuggling and limit illegal migration. By virtue of Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code, temporary controls will be in place until June 15. Border checks are also taking place at the German-Austrian border and will last until May 11.Border monitoring activities of the German Border Guard are carried out at different points and times along smuggling routes, depending on the current situation. Since October 16, 2023, in the course of temporary controls along the border with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, the federal police have detected almost 23,000 unauthorized entries and made 13,000 interventions to prevent entry or terminate illegal stay. The number of unauthorized entries detected nationwide dropped from around 21,000 in September 2023 to around 6,700 in January 2024. 564 smugglers were arrested during this period.
