Germany is studying the installation of fixed border checkpoints to curb illegal immigration through Poland and the Czech Republic, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Friday.
Fixed checkpoints could be a way to combat human trafficking [de migrantes] in a more aggressive way,” Faeser told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Germany has already strengthened its police presence along the border with the two neighboring countries to stem the flow of illegal migrants, Faeser pointed out.
The minister made a distinction between legitimate asylum seekers and illegal migrants. And he indicated that the introduction of stricter controls does not necessarily mean a decrease in the arrival of asylum seekers.
“If someone asks for asylum at the border, the asylum request must be analyzed in Germany. It is a very clear legal obligation,” he stressed.
“What remains crucial is the protection of the European Union’s external borders, which we can guarantee with a common asylum system,” he said.
Germany is facing ‘heavy immigration’, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said during a visit to Sicily, Italy, where scores of migrants crossing the Mediterranean continue to arrive.
“We must take measures to make the burden bearable and reduce the number of arrivals,” he added.
Last week, Berlin indicated that it will stop accepting migrants from Italy, contrary to what was envisaged in a European solidarity plan.
This program aims to relieve pressure on the EU’s border countries, which are the first privileged stopover for migrants.
However, Germany stated that it could resume receiving migrants if Italy resumed its obligations on refugee returns.
Source: DN
