In the face of heightened migration pressure, German federal police have implemented border controls since mid-October, sparking lengthy traffic jams on both sides of the border with Poland. The checks, conducted on German territory near former border crossings, have raised concerns about congestion in the border region.
In response to these concerns, Dietmar Woidke, the President of Brandenburg, the German state surrounding Berlin, suggested that it would be more prudent for German authorities to carry out these inspections on Polish territory, further from the border. Woidke expressed his views during an interview with the German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
However, Bartosz Grodecki, a Polish Deputy Interior Minister, firmly rejected this proposal, stating that it had not been discussed or agreed upon with the German authorities. He emphasized that such a solution is legally untenable and not feasible. Grodecki maintained that border controls inherently slow down traffic, and shifting them to Polish territory would merely relocate the queues from border crossings without addressing the core issue.
“This is impossible. If Germans are bothered by queues near crossings, they may as well conduct inspections on their own territory,” Grodecki remarked. He added, “There is no legal basis on which the Germans could control entry into their territory on the Polish side.”
The German government recently intensified border checks with Poland and the Czech Republic due to an increase in migrant inflow, reflecting the broader challenges faced by countries in the region as they grapple with the ongoing migration crisis.