Despite Germany's bold announcement that the country is ready to take on the largest number of refugees among the European nations within the years to come, the country has shown signs that it might be nearing its limit in the midst of the ongoing refugee crisis, as the government imposed border controls on Sunday, dramatically halting train traffic with Austria and implementing spot checks on vehicles entering the country.
Thomas de Maizière, the German Interior Minister, has stated that the emergency measures came as a result of a massive influx of refugees, whose numbers has stretched the country's capabilities to a breaking point, reports The Guardian.
"This step has become necessary. Asylum-seekers must understand they cannot chose the states where they are seeking protection," he said.
The decision to impose the limitations were implemented just a day prior to a meeting in Brussels, in which prominent European ministers are expected to attend. The meeting is set to discuss the ongoing migrant crisis, as well as a plan to distribute tens of thousands of migrants across the European countries, according to The New York Times.
The restrictions implemented by Germany may be seen as a strong sign, as well as an outright message, to other European countries that Germany is growing increasingly weary of being the nation that is shouldering most of the burden in the ongoing migrant problem, which has become the largest humanitarian crisis in decades.
