German customs to assist police with border controls
German customs officers have been called in to help police cope with stricter checks on the borders aimed at turning back migrants attempting to enter the country irregularly, a Finance Ministry spokeswoman told dpa on Friday.
The request was being evaluated, the spokeswoman said. Customs falls under the Finance Ministry.
Hours after taking office on May 6, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt imposed stricter border checks, instructing that all asylum seekers should be turned back. The measures do not apply to pregnant women, children or other vulnerable people.
The GdP police union said that these stricter controls could be maintained only for a few weeks, but Dobrindt rejected this. Germany's federal police force is responsible for the country's borders.
The customs office has been supporting police along the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland since mid-October 2023. The arrangement was extended to all borders from mid-September.
The customs spokeswoman added: "A further increase in support for the federal police from customs should not be allowed to jeopardize statutory duties in other areas of customs, for example, airports and seaports."
Interior minister defends stricter border controls
Dobrindt on Friday defended the stricter border controls on his first visit to Prague since taking office.
"Germany has a strong magnetic effect on illegal migration in the world," Dobrindt said, calling for this to be reduced and the numbers of migrants brought down.
He acknowledged the greater burden on police, but said the checks were having an effect.
Germany and the Czech Republic share a border of more than 800 kilometres. Both countries are members of the Schengen free travel area.
Dobrindt said a pan-European solution was required, and said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition, which took office at the beginning of the month, would no longer hold back in Brussels when it came to taking joint measures against irregular migration.
Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan called for a rapid return to Schengen rules on freedom of travel. The Prague government saw the current German measures as an "exceptional situation," he said.
Rakušan said he had agreed with Dobrindt that the new checks would be re-evaluated after a month at the beginning of June.
According to the Prague government, transit through the country is at a five-year low, with most rejections at the German border affecting Ukrainians with right of residence in the Czech Republic but not elsewhere in Europe.
Migrants from countries like Syria were now the exception, he said. Many Czechs commute across the border for work in Germany.
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