Polish government mulls tightening controls on German border

WARSAW

Poland is considering tightening controls on the German border over fears of higher migration traffic through Italy, Polish government spokesperson Piotr Muller told Polish radio RMF FM on Friday.

"We are considering some controls on the Polish-German border," he said, referring to media reports Wednesday on temporary Germany border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser will announce temporary controls on Germany's borders with Poland and the Czech Republic in an attempt to curb the influx of asylum seekers, a German official told Politico on Tuesday.

"We talk about this problem louder than Germany, because in this context we are talking about the Balkan route, i.e. the immigration route from southern Europe. That's why we started inspections on the Slovak border,” Muller said.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister, said on Monday that he had instructed the head of the Interior and Administration Ministry to check buses and cars on the Polish-Slovak border, which could be used by migrants who do not have the right to enter Poland.

German leaders have come under growing pressure to crack down on asylum seekers entering the country, many of whom are now crossing the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic. About 204,000 people asked for asylum in Germany in the first eight months of 2023, up 77% from the same period of 2022.

Poland's ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), has been highly critical of Germany during its campaigning ahead of elections just weeks away, on Oct. 15.