In an interview with Polish radio RMF FM on Friday, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said the Polish government was discussing tightening controls at the border with Germany over fears of increased migrant traffic through Italy.
Piotr Müller said, referring to media reports Wednesday on temporary Germany border controls with Poland and the Czech Republic:
“We are considering some controls on the Polish-German border.”
Nancy Feser, Germany’s interior minister, will announce temporary controls at Germany’s borders with Poland and the Czech Republic to control migration, a German official told Politico on Tuesday. Piotr Müller added:
“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.”
On Monday, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s Prime Minister, ordered the Head of the Interior Ministry and administration to check buses and cars at the Polish-Slovak border that may be carrying migrants who do not have the right to enter Poland.
An increasing number of asylum-seeking migrants are arriving in Germany, many of them crossing the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic. In the first eight months of 2023, around 204,000 people sought asylum in Germany, 77 per cent more than in the same period in 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.
Germany’s move to tighten border controls comes after Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Saturday on the Polish government to clarify allegations about a cash-for-visas deal for migrants.
