Latest news with #borderchecks
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
How Europe slammed its borders shut: As ten nations including Germany and France introduce police checks to tackle mass migration 'jihadi threats', how they're heading to Britain
It was as long ago as 1957 that freedom of movement was first enshrined as a fundamental right of EU citizens. In the intervening 68 years, that right has only become even more ingrained, with the Schengen Agreement allowing the citizens of 25 EU member states to not just live and work in other countries but to come and go without any border checks.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland refuses entry to 24 people from Germany in new border checks
Polish border guards have refused entry to 24 people in the first week of checks at the border with Germany, according to Polish news agency PAP. Konrad Szwed, a spokesman for the Polish Border Guard, said on Monday that 67,000 people and more than 28,500 vehicles were checked at the German-Polish border between July 7-13. The Polish centre-left government ordered random checks at the borders with Germany and Lithuania a week ago as a way to crack down on irregular migration. The move was also seen as a response to similar German measures that have been in place since October 2023. On the Lithuanian side, some 40,000 people and 19,500 vehicles were checked in the first week, the spokesman said. There, 15 people were denied entry and 19 migrants were turned back to Lithuania in accordance with a repatriation agreement. Eight suspected people smugglers were detained. Out of 65 border crossings to Germany and Lithuania in total, 16 now have permanent border checks, while other border posts are subject to partial controls. The new Polish border checks have not yet had any major impact in Lithuania, according to the authorities there. "There have been no problems for travellers due to the Polish checks," said a spokesman for the Lithuanian border guard. German authorities reported long tailbacks on the German side of the border on Thursday, and fear heavy traffic later this month as summer holidays start.
Al Jazeera
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Polish-German border checks play 'into the hands of the far right'
Polish-German border checks play 'into the hands of the far right' Quotable Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, says Poland has imposed controls on its border with Germany, which will appease the far right. Video Duration 00 minutes 48 seconds 00:48 Video Duration 01 minutes 05 seconds 01:05 Video Duration 00 minutes 59 seconds 00:59 Video Duration 01 minutes 06 seconds 01:06 Video Duration 01 minutes 29 seconds 01:29 Video Duration 01 minutes 00 seconds 01:00 Video Duration 01 minutes 37 seconds 01:37
France 24
08-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Israeli proposal for forced relocation of Gazans 'may be a way to pacify right-ring base'
01:21 08/07/2025 Worries for future of EU's Schengen area as Poland reinstates border checks 08/07/2025 France 'worried' over teenager's disappearance in Iran 08/07/2025 Israeli plan to forcibly relocate Gazans blasted as 'crime against humanity' 08/07/2025 Indonesia's volcano Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupts again 🌋 08/07/2025 French poverty rate hits 30-year high 08/07/2025 King Charles hosts France's Macron in first European state visit since Brexit 08/07/2025 Death toll from Texas floods passes 100, including 27 at girls' youth camp 08/07/2025 Japan, South Korea face 25% tariffs as Trump ramps up trade war 08/07/2025 Israel's Katz calls for confining all Gazans in 'humanitarian city'
Al Jazeera
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Poland imposes controls on Germany, Lithuania borders to check migration
Poland has reintroduced temporary checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania, citing a growing influx of undocumented migrants and increasing public concern over security. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the move on Monday, arguing that Warsaw needed to 'redirect' migration routes that bypass barriers along the Belarusian border and instead pass through neighbouring Latvia and Lithuania. 'To redirect this stream of people, which is deflected by our barrier, but which wants to cross Poland again through the border with Latvia and Lithuania, and further into Europe,' Tusk said. The decision came amid heightened tensions across Europe over irregular migration, with other Schengen members like Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands having already taken similar steps over the past 18 months, putting strain on the European Union's passport-free travel zone. Germany has maintained controls on its border with Poland since 2023, but recently adopted a tougher approach, rejecting undocumented arrivals and sending them back to Poland under EU and bilateral agreements. Polish authorities say this has placed an unfair burden on their country. Knut Abraham, Germany's envoy for Polish relations, warned the new checks could cause traffic congestion and disrupt trade, without curbing migration effectively. Similar concerns were raised by Rafal Gronicz, mayor of the border town of Zgorzelec, who dismissed fears of a migrant crisis as exaggerated. 'As long as I live, I have never known anyone who wanted to escape from Germany to Poland,' he told local radio. 'There are no pressing waves of migrants walking around Zgorzelec.' Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said checks on the German border will be lifted when Berlin ends its tougher controls. 'If Germany lifts its controls, we are not going to delay either,' Siemoniak said. 'We want this movement to be absolutely free, that the problems of illegal migrant and migration be resolved together, without either side suffering.' Tensions have escalated in recent weeks in Poland after a Venezuelan national was charged with murdering a 24-year-old woman in Torun. That killing triggered mass protests led by nationalist groups, with some 10,000 people marching on Sunday in her memory. A separate incident on Saturday saw a Polish man fatally stabbed during a brawl in the northern town of Nowe. Authorities said on Monday that 13 people had been arrested – three Poles and 10 Colombians. Angry crowds gathered outside a workers' hostel where the Colombians had been staying, state media reported. Far-right groups have also begun patrolling Poland's western frontier, claiming to protect the country from migrant flows. Human rights organisations condemned these vigilante efforts, warning they fuel xenophobia and undermine trust in official institutions. 'The actions of these self-proclaimed groups are the result of a radicalising political narrative,' said the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. 'Debate on migration should be grounded in facts, not fear.'
