German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is set to announce that the country would impose checks on borders with Poland and the Czech Republic amid a surge in migrants.
Faeser is expected to unveil the new temporary checks that would be imposed at selected border crossings and would begin in the next few days. German leaders have recently come face-to-face with mounting pressure to crack down on the growing numbers of asylum seekers in the region.
Germany To Impose Checks on Borders
Many of the migrants are now crossing the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic, as there are roughly 204,000 people who requested asylum in Germany within the first eight months of this year, which is 77% more than the same period last year.
Lawmakers are also trying to make a particular effort to sound tougher on migration ahead of state elections in Bavaria and Hesse on Oct. 8. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during a political rally in Bavaria over the weekend, linked the border crisis with an alleged visa-for-bribes scandal that has rocked Poland's anti-immigrant government, as per Politico.
Scholz told a crowd in Nurnberg that he does not want Poland to wave people through the process and then have a talk about the asylum policy afterward. He also demanded the Polish government to "clarify" recent accusations that officials in Polish consulates handed out large numbers of visas across Africa and Asia in exchange for bribes.
Additionally, members of Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) Party reacted angrily to Scholz's suggestion that the border crisis is connected to the visa scandal. Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau also asked the German Chancellor to "refrain from statements that damage our mutual relations."
The issue of border controls is expected to be a particularly sensitive topic in Poland, which is holding a parliamentary election on Oct. 15. Members of the PiS party have tried to whip up Polish voters in the lead-up to the election with anti-German rhetoric and by demanding reparations for Nazi Germany's crimes.
Migrant Surge
The situation comes as Germany has maintained stationary controls on the Bavarian border with Austria since the European migrant crisis 2015. At the time, more than 1 million migrants arrived in the country, many of whom were trying to flee the war in the Middle East, according to the Straits Times.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a conservative, was praised for her policy. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party currently stands to win in three regional elections in eastern Germany next year, polling 32% to 35% there and 21% nationwide.
A German Interior Ministry spokesperson also said that additional border police measures were currently being reviewed. Faeser is also in talks with the Czech Republic about the possibility of German police officers operating on Czech territory, similar to an agreement Germany has struck with Switzerland.
The minister said that German police officers, in close coordination with Swiss police forces, are allowed to inspect Swiss territory and to prevent any unauthorized entry into Germany, said the Associated Press.
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