Latest news with #FederalMinistryoftheInterior
See - Sada Elbalad
2 days ago
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Germany Spends €80 Mln on Border Controls
Israa Farhan Germany has spent €80.5 million on land border control operations between mid-September 2024 and the end of June 2025, according to figures released by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The measures, initially introduced as a temporary exception to the Schengen Area's free movement rules, have since been repeatedly extended. The expenditure covers a wide range of costs, including €24 to €29.1 million per quarter for deploying federal police along internal borders. Between April and June 2025 alone, the government paid €8 million for meals and hotel accommodation for police officers, almost €3 million in allowances for working unsociable hours, €2.6 million for administrative and operational resources, and around €2 million for running border checkpoints. Overtime pay represented the largest single expense, amounting to €37.9 million during the period from September 2024 to June 2025. Former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser first imposed the land border checks in September 2024, citing the need to curb irregular migration and combat cross-border crime. Her successor, Alexander Dobrindt, intensified these measures upon taking office in May 2025, announcing further extensions beyond September this year and introducing a policy of turning away asylum seekers directly at the border. Between 8 May and 4 August 2025, federal police refused entry to 493 people who had expressed an intention to seek asylum in Germany. Critics, including opposition figures, have condemned the policy as unlawful and harmful to both travelers and asylum seekers. They argue that it creates traffic congestion in border regions, adds unnecessary burdens for regular cross-border commuters, and results in excessively high costs for the federal government. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid Videos & Features Story behind Trending Jessica Radcliffe Death Video News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt News The Jessica Radcliffe Orca Attack? 100% Fake and AI-Generated
Local Germany
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
What have three months of stricter border controls in Germany achieved?
In May, Interior Minister Dobrindt announced a change in German migration policy and introduced stricter border controls - a measure which he said would remain in place until further notice. Poland responded with its own border controls, while critics warned that the federal police would be overwhelmed. Have there actually been more rejections? Not if you look at the figures alone. According to figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior available to the AFP news agency, a total of 9,254 people were turned away at the borders between May 8 and July 31—that's around 770 per week. The federal police recently published a figure of 9,506, which includes not only rejections but also a small number of so-called pushbacks. This is the case when refugees have already entered German territory and are forced to leave the country again. READ ALSO: Who is the new German minister in charge of immigration? At 770 per week, the number of rejections is roughly on par with the first four months of 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2024. However, Dobrindt regularly points to the long-term effect of border controls. These have led to fewer refugees making their way to Germany overall, argues the CSU minister. Where were most of the rejections? At the border with France, where a total of 2,038 rejections were recorded between May 8 and July 31. There were also four-digit numbers of rejections at the borders with Poland (1,816), Switzerland (1,760), and Austria (1,623). This was followed by the Netherlands (706), the Czech Republic (576), Luxembourg (208), Belgium (413), and Denmark (114). Advertisement In May and June, most of those turned back came from Afghanistan, followed by Algeria, Eritrea, and Somalia. No breakdown by country of origin was available for July. The police union warned of an overload for the federal police. What is its view now? 'The federal police are still under a lot of pressure from the increased internal border controls,' Andreas Roßkopf, the GdP chairman responsible for the federal police, told AFP. Some departments have still changed their duty rosters and are 'largely foregoing training and further education,' Roßkopf added. 'Leave to reduce overtime is also being granted only on a restrictive basis.' According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the number of officers deployed at the borders each day was increased from 11,000 to 14,000 when the stricter controls began. That is just under a third of the total federal police force. The federal government has always emphasized that the measure cannot be maintained in the long term. Is there now a shortage of staff at airports and train stations? Critics have feared this. Due to the summer travel rush, these locations are extremely busy, which means a lot of work for the police. The Ministry of the Interior is keeping the number of officers at airports and train stations secret for 'tactical reasons.' According to the GdP, staffing levels are 'almost identical' to last year. Advertisement 'But of course, we are lacking support from the riot police and mobile units,' said Roßkopf. 'Especially with the soccer leagues now starting, with the high volume of soccer fans traveling by train, this support is urgently needed,' warned the union representative. 'Scarier things to come': How foreigners view Germany's immigration crackdown For several years now, there has been a shortage of around 4,000 officers at the more than 5,700 train stations and stops alone. According to Roßkopf's forecast, staffing shortages are possible as a result. 'With rising crime at train stations and increasing violence among traveling soccer fans, we consider this to be a cause for concern,' said Roßkopf. The Interior Ministry, however, has given the all-clear: 'It is ensured that the federal police will fulfill their legally assigned tasks.' How are border controls affecting overtime? That's difficult to say in general terms. According to the ministry, the federal police had accumulated 2.9 million hours of overtime by June 30. This figure is likely to have risen due to the additional workload at the borders. However, the majority of the overtime has been accumulated by officers over many years: as of March 31, 2025, the figure already stood at 2.4 million hours. There is no breakdown of the reasons for the overtime, including that accumulated since May 8.
Daily Mirror
10-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Five feared killed in horror school shooting as armed police swarm scene
Elite armed police have raced to a school in Graz, Austria's second largest city, after a gunman opened fire in broad daylight. The BORG Dreierschützengasse school is being evacuated with officers swarming the scene. Austrian special task force Cobra has also been deployed to the horror incident, which unfolded at about 10am local time. There are fears as many as five people may have been killed and multiple people injured, according to local media, and a police spokesperson believes the shooter may be a pupil at the school. Students and teachers are believed to be among the victims. Federal police have been deployed to the scene, according to local reports. Cobra units - armed special forces part of the Federal Ministry of the Interior - have rushed to a community administered hospital nearby the shooting site. At keast five people may have died following the school shooting this morning. Police rushed to the scene at around 10am local time (9am GMT) this morning, in the Dreierschützengasse neighborhood, with a local spokesperson telling national broadcaster ORF early on that one person may have died. Fritz Grundnig said one person "possibly also dead" following the shooting. Police have confirmed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Cobra units were deployed to the site of the suspected shooting this morning. +++Aktuell läuft in der Dreierschützengasse in #Graz ein Polizeieinsatz. Bitte an die Anweisungen der Polizeikräfte halten. +++ #graz1006
The Star
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Germany's tougher border controls show early impact, but raise sustainability concerns
BERLIN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Amid growing migration pressures, Germany's recently intensified border controls and increased asylum rejections are beginning to yield results. Even as the Federal Ministry of the Interior showed no signs of rolling back, the police union warned on Monday that the measures are not sustainable in the long run. Shortly after taking office, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered a sharp increase in border checks and authorized the rejection of asylum seekers directly at entry points. Within a week, the number of rejections rose by nearly 50 percent, according to the minister. However, the police union has raised alarms over the strain on federal police forces. Andreas Rosskopf, chairman of the German Police Union was quoted by the Funke Media Group as saying Monday that the current level of control is only feasible due to extraordinary measures such as restructured duty rosters, suspended training, and halted overtime leave. "The police can only maintain the intensive controls for a few more weeks," Rosskopf warned. More than 1,000 riot police officers have been deployed in border regions over recent days. Rosskopf noted concerns from within the security services about long-term staffing, including whether federal police can continue supporting state authorities as before, such as during football matches and demonstrations. Criticism has also emerged at the European level. Katarina Barley, vice president of the European Parliament, has described the early impact of the controls as "very limited" and instead recommended covert, random identity checks as a more sustainable solution. "The Schengen Area is one of Europe's greatest achievements," she emphasized.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Germany wants to allow Syrian refugees to visit home
The German government wants to allow Syrian refugees to travel back to their home country for a limited time without losing their protection status in Germany , a spokeswoman of the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. Legally, refugees can lose their asylum protection status if they visit their home country which they left in fear of persecution. Since the fall of Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad last December, Berlin has restarted diplomatic relations with Syriaand reopened its embassy in Damascus. Why is Germany making this proposal? Under the proposal, Syrians with refugee status in Germany would be allowed to go back to their home country for a period of four weeks, or two separate two-week periods. The aim of the proposal is to enable Syrians to make the decision to return voluntarily, a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said. "To do this, people from Syria must be able to see for themselves - for example, whether [their] houses are still standing, whether their relatives are still alive and so on." Such visits are the prerequisite for enabling large numbers of refugees to return to their country, if the situation in Syria further stabilizes, the spokeswoman added. The visits should be only permitted "under certain strict conditions" and if they serve to "prepare for a permanent return" to Syria. Those who wish to use this exception would have to register their visits with the relevant immigration authorities , the spokeswoman said. CSU rejects proposal Germany's Christian Socialist Union (CSU) and its Bavarian State interior minister however reject the proposal. Bavarian State's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann described the proposed visits as "vacation trips under the guise of fact-finding trips." Herrmann argued against "uncontrolled travel" between Germany and Syria. Instead, he favored a coordinated solution within Europe rather than "national solo efforts." The CSU, which won the majority of votes in Germany's February federal election along with its partner the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is set to take over the Federal Ministry of the Interior in the upcoming government. The union plans to significantly tighten migration policies . The next day after Assad's December ouster, German authorities froze asylum proceedings from Syrian citizens, alongside several other European countries. More than 1 million Syrians, many of whom fled their homeland during the bloody civil war, live in Germany.
