German expansion of border controls sends a signal at home but tests European unity

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White House Correspondent

The German government plans to extend temporary border controls to all nine of its frontiers next week in what it describes as an effort to crack down on irregular migration and crime following recent extremist attacks in the country.

Last month, a deadly knife attack in Soligen killed three people. The perpetrator was a Syrian asylum-seeker who claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State group. In June, a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left one police officer dead and four other people wounded.

But most of Germany’s neighbors are fellow members of the European Union, a 27-country bloc based on the principles of free trade and travel. And Germany — the EU’s economic motor located in the heart of Europe — shares more borders with other countries than any other member state.

The border closures are set to start next week and last six months — and are already threatening to test European unity. The Polish prime minister denounced them as “unacceptable” and Austria said it won’t accept migrants rejected by Germany.

Here’s a look at some of the issues:

How do Europeans travel currently?

The EU bloc has a visa-free travel area known as Schengen that allows citizens of most EU countries to travel easily across borders for work and pleasure. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland also belong to Schengen even though they are not members of the EU.

According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce controls at the EU’s so-called internal borders in case of a serious threat, like internal security. But it also says border controls should be applied as a last resort in exceptional situations, and must be limited in time.

Such limitations are often put in place during major sporting events, including the recent Olympic Games in Paris, and the European soccer championship this summer.

What’s Germany doing now?

Nine countries border Germany — the most of any state in the bloc — and all are part of Schengen. Germany already imposed restrictions last year at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.

Germany’s Interior Ministry on Monday ordered the extension of checks at those borders, as well as controls at borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the aim was to limit irregular migration and protect the nation from “the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime.”

Growing backlash against migration

The government and many Germans welcomed refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere from 2015-16, when more than 1 million asylum-seekers entered the country.

But as large-scale migration to Europe continues nearly a decade later, a backlash is fueling the growth of far-right parties.

People feel that social services are overwhelmed, and extremist attacks by asylum-seekers have led to security fears. It has added up to growing support for firmer immigration policies — and in some cases, approval for the far-right parties that champion such limits.

The unpopular coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying now to crack down on irregular immigration after the far-right did well in two recent state elections in eastern Germany. Another looms Sept. 22 in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin.

Economic worries

As the EU’s largest economy, Germany is a key trading partner for its neighbors. The interior ministry’s announcement has already prompted economic worries for the main Dutch transportation lobby group, the Dutch Association for Transport and Logistics. The organization said the decision was undermining the Schengen principle of free trade and it fears major economic damage.

At home, Germany’s DSLV logistics and freight association urged a selective approach that would spare trucks moving goods across the borders — which would mirror what occurred during the European soccer championships. The summer’s checks avoided economic disruptions because officials focused on individuals and not trucks, the association said.

Dirk Jandura, the president of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services, said in an statement to The Associated Press that restrictions on the free movement of people “always mean delays and thus cost increases for the economy and especially for wholesale and foreign trade.”

“They disrupt logistics and thus disrupt supply chains,” he wrote. „However, if migration policy findings require restrictive measures, then this is understandable. For us, it is important to implement the measures with a sense of proportion.”

Political repercussions

The ruling conservative government in Austria — which is facing a tight race against the far-right party in an election later this month — says it will not accept refugees who are turned back from neighboring Germany.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told reporters that Germany has the right to send people back if another EU country is responsible for their asylum application. But that would require a formal procedure and the consent of the member state concerned.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Germany’s plan “unacceptable” and called for urgent consultations by all countries affected.

Poland has struggled with a migration crisis on its border with Belarus since 2021. Warsaw accuses Belarus and Russia of luring migrants from the Middle East and Africa there to destabilize the West.

But in the Netherlands, where the anti-immigration Party for Freedom won last year’s election, the minister for asylum and migration pledged to step up Dutch border controls as well.

Slovenia, Austria and Italy also have extended temporary border controls in some areas or all along their frontiers.

___ Associated Press writers Mike Corder in Amsterdam, David McHugh in Frankfurt and Philipp Jenne in Vienna contributed to this report.

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Follow AP migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration