Poland criticizes Germany’s plan for tougher border controls

BERLIN — Poland’s top diplomat in Berlin has criticized the incoming German government’s plans to tighten border controls just days before the new regime is set to take office.

“The current controls at the German-Polish border are already a problem for daily border traffic and the functioning of the EU internal market,” Poland’s chief diplomat in Berlin, Jan Tombiński, told POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook. “We therefore do not want to see a tightening of border controls.”

The conservatives of chancellor-to-be Friedrich Merz and his Cabinet, who are set to take power in Berlin next Tuesday in a coalition government with the center-left Social Democratic Party, have long promised a tougher stance on migration in order to win back voters on the right. Merz vowed to introduce stricter border checks on his first day in office and to reject illegal crossings, including of asylum-seekers.

“Anyone who tries to enter Germany illegally must expect to be stopped at the German border from May 6,” Thorsten Frei, the incoming head of the Chancellery, a powerful role akin to a chief of staff, reinforced earlier this week.

When asked whether Poland would accept the return of asylum-seekers, Tombiński emphasized that Warsaw stands by its “obligations under EU legislation.” He explained that this includes the reform of the Common European Asylum System. Under the CEAS, countries may not reject asylum-seekers at their internal borders.

A spokesperson for the Austrian interior ministry told POLITICO, “We are confident that the actions of the German authorities at the EU’s internal borders are in line with the legal system.” The spokesperson added: “The European Court of Justice has ruled that informal returns are not legally possible when an application for asylum is made.”

Merz — whose top campaign promises also included pledges to improve relations with Germany’s neighbors (including Poland), and to take a more proactive position on the European stage — is set to travel to Warsaw on Wednesday, where he’ll have to defend his tough border policy.

“Our aim is to achieve more at the European level, too. I am already holding talks with European partners on this,” Alexander Dobrindt, the incoming interior minister, said in an interview Thursday, without naming specific countries. “CEAS is going in the right direction, but is too slow … We want to achieve more,” he added.

In order to conduct stricter border controls without overburdening its work force, the German police would need at least 20,000 more staff members, according to the chief of the country’s police union, Jochen Kopelke.   

“We do not consider comprehensive controls and returns at German borders to be realistically feasible,” he added, in light of Germany’s 3,700-plus kilometers of borders.