On the border in Schengen as German police tighten controls

German Federal Police have increased security at the country's border. For the next six months the checks will be in place at the nation's border posts with its neighbors – fellow signatories to the Schengen free movement agreement. 

Police spokesperson Dieter Hutt says that checks are necessary.

"The checks are targeted at vehicles where we suspect illegal migration," he said. "By doing so, we want to keep the inconvenience for commuters and the transfer of goods to a minimum."

There had been a large amount of pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition to take action on migration after a fatal stabbing attack in August. The main suspect has been identified as a failed asylum applicant from Syria.

Results in local elections in Saxony and Thuringia, where the right-wing anti-migration AFD party picked up major gains, also ramped up calls for Scholz to do something about irregular migration into Germany.

However, freedom of movement across borders is a big part of European Identity; it is enshrined in the Schengen Agreement – named for the small town in Luxembourg, bordering France and Germany, where it was signed in 1985. It allows for the removal of border checks between the vast majority of EU states as well as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

Local residents have mixed feelings about the additional border checks. Some are in favor, with one man telling CGTN "My opinion is it probably needs to be checked for the time being, to ensure that you have an overview, and then you can just switch back to the old mode. It's that simple." 

However, another visitor to Schengen from just over the river Moselle disagreed.

"We are used to Schengen, we're used to no borders, free traveling around countries," she said. "And this, I think, defeats the purpose of the European Union – the peace, the purpose of Schengen. It defeats the purpose of being European citizens." 

Protecting boundaries without stifling movement

German authorities must find the balance between protecting national boundaries and keeping commuters and every day traffic moving.

The majority of migration is understood to come through Germany's eastern borders, along routes that have been active since the migration crisis of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people arrived to claim asylum.  

However, the checks apply to all crossing points with Germany's nine neighboring countries – and police spokesperson Hutt told the media that illegal migration is coming from all across Schengen into Germany.

"Last week, there was a larger group of Syrian citizens whom we intercepted in a regional train from Strasbourg," he said. "There were 15 of them. We notice illegal migration on a daily basis which shows us that illegal migration is happening and that our focus is right as far as the German-French border is concerned."

The checks are set to remain in place for the next six months, despite criticism from Germany's EU partners including Poland and Greece who have accused Berlin of putting freedom of movement – a cornerstone of the European Union – at risk.

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