Poland brings in border checks with Germany and Lithuania in 'illegal immigration' crackdown
In total, 52 checkpoints have been set up on the border with Germany and 13 with Lithuania.
It's a temporary measure which will remain in place until 5 August, but the government hasn't ruled out an extension.
The move by Prime Minister Donald Tusk may be an attempt to appear tough on migration, which voters had signalled an appetite for.
The changes came into effect on Sunday, one month into the presidency of nationalist Karol Nawrocki – who ran on a slogan of 'Poland first, Poles first'.
Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said the decision was taken purely to combat 'illegal immigration' and insisted Poles and other EU nationals would not face inconvenience.
Germany, Poland and Lithuania are all in the Schengen Area, which generally allows for the free movement of people without border checks. However, member states can temporarily reintroduce controls if they deem there is a threat to security.
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Germany reintroduced temporary checks on the border with Poland in November 2023.
Warsaw last month began to accuse Berlin of sending irregular migrants arriving from Poland back across the border.
'The German side is now actually refusing to authorise the entry of migrants heading to Germany to request asylum or obtain another type of status,' Tusk said last Tuesday.
The controls on Lithuania's border were introduced to stop migrants coming in from Belarus, according to Poland.
Nationalist and far-right politicians had accused Tusk's government of having 'abdicated' to Germany on migration and of allowing Berlin to overwhelm Poland with migrants.
In late June, members of a far-right party gathered at several points along the border to set up 'citizens' patrols', which the government insists are illegal.
The German interior ministry last week said it would 'do everything possible to find a good solution, a good joint solution'.
The Germans have proposed joint patrols but the Poles have refused.
With reporting by AFP
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