Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Germany’s decision to start controlling all land borders was unacceptable.
Such actions are unacceptable from the Polish perspective. Poland does not need to strengthen controls on our border, but to strengthen the participation of countries such as Germany in guarding and securing the external borders of the European Union.
Tusk criticised Berlin’s initiative on Tuesday at a meeting of Polish diplomatic chiefs in Warsaw. He said that Berlin’s action meant “de facto a large-scale suspension of the Schengen area,” which included 25 of the 27 EU member states.
“In the coming hours we will contact other countries that will be affected by these decisions of Berlin for urgent consultations on the action on the EU forum in this matter. I hope that we will discuss this in the spirit of the European Union.”
Germany was introducing temporary border controls as part of a crackdown on illegal migration and the threat of extremism, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Monday. She declared that the controls at land borders would begin on 16 September and last for six months.
We are strengthening our internal security through concrete action and we are continuing our tough stance against irregular migration. It is important for us to act in close partnership with our neighbours and to minimise the impact on commuters and everyday life in border regions.
The country shares land borders with the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, France, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
The German government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, is looking for ways to curb migration in the face of public anxiety and after a deadly knife attack in the town of Solingen last month. Three people were fatally stabbed during a street festival.
