Germany's Scholz defends border controls against EU critics ...

Germany is determined to press forward to implement border controls, undeterred by a backlash from its EU partners, Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that the “dispute is necessary”, on Wednesday (11 September).

On Tuesday, Poland’s pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk (PO/EPP) had sharply criticised Germany’s plans to introduce checks at all its land borders, calling them “unacceptable”. 

“We will continue this successful approach, […], we are doing this, although it is getting difficult with our neighbours,” Scholz (SPD/S&D) told lawmakers in the German Bundestag. 

“I believe […] it is necessary for us to endure this dispute,” he added. 

Germany has had checks in place at its borders with Poland, Czechia, Austria, and Switzerland, as an approved exception to the rules of the EU’s border-free travel area, Schengen. The interior ministry plans to add new controls at all other borders from next week, having repeatedly called existing checks a success in combating irregular migration. 

Scholz also lashed out at the main centre-right opposition in parliament, the CDU/CSU, notably a close ally of Tusk’s PO party, both of which are part of the European People’s Party (EPP) party family.

The CDU/CSU had walked away from migration talks with the government, after ministers refused to give in to its demands to systematically turn away irregular migrants at the German border, warning that it would be a breach of European law.  

“Some of you are now quite surprised that the neighbouring countries are also still there,” said Scholz. “Because so many are sitting there with great hubris, I would like to say explicitly that the power of the Federal Republic of Germany ends at [its] border.” 

The chancellor reaffirmed, however, that any measures are supposed to be temporary until the EU’s migration reform takes effect, which is currently being implemented by the member states. 

Germany has “almost finalised” the necessary transposition of EU laws. “They will soon reach the German Bundestag and will be passed this year,” said Scholz.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]