Germany plans to bring back border checks from Monday; Dutch Cabinet plans to cooperate

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Monday that she wants to re-introduce passport controls at all national borders. She hopes to drastically reduce the number of people entering the country without a valid visa. Dutch Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber said she understands very well why Germany will once again be introducing border controls to combat undocumented migration.

This is already in line with what her party and the Cabinet wants, she told the Telegraaf. Faber wants to work with her counterparts across the border on the matter, she said. The new Dutch Cabinet's overview agreement also stated that border controls should be stricter. Faber is a member of the far-right PVV, which has long taken a tough stance against immigration, especially those seeking asylum through legal and illicit means.

Faeser has informed the European Commission about Germany's plans. The controls are intended as a measure against unauthorized immigration and the threat posed by Islamist terrorist groups. The border controls are meant to start on Monday and will last for at least six months.

All of Germany's neighbouring countries, including the Netherlands, are members of the Schengen Area. This means that people can normally travel freely between those countries. "It is important for us to work closely with our neighbours and to limit the impact on commuters and everyday life in the border regions," the minister said on Monday.

In October 2023, Germany introduced checks at border crossings with Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland to tackle immigration-related issues. Border controls have been in place with Austria since 2015. These border controls are officially considered to be temporary, but have been extended by the national government in Berlin on several occasions. Temporary checks were also introduced at all of the country's borders during this year's European Football Championship in Germany.

Political sources said the German coalition has drawn up extensive plans to deny migrants entry at the border in line with European Union law. Currently, the number of asylum seekers being refused entry at the border is limited.

The immigration debate in Germany has heated up in the aftermath of a fatal stabbing in the city of Solingen last month, an attack carried out by a Syrian asylum seeker . The Christian Democratic opposition bloc CDU/CSU has called on the government to take a tougher approach to immigration. Last week, the anti-immigration party AfD came in first in state elections in Thuringia, and the far-right party came in second in Saxony. In two weeks, state elections are scheduled for Brandenburg.