German Greens urge EU commission to stop Berlin's border checks

German Green Party politicians have aired their complaints about border checks imposed by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in an open letter to the European Commission, in another case of bickering among the fractious three-way governing coalition in Berlin.

The letter published on Monday, which is addressed to the European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen, expresses concerns regarding the stationary controls introduced at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland.

The Green Party members argue that Germany, like seven other EU member states, is not acting in accordance with the rules that regulate movement in Europe's passport-free Schengen travel area. The free movement of people is one of the fundamental rights enshrined by the European Union.

To combat a rise in unauthorized migrant entries, Faeser ordered stationary controls be placed at the land crossings with the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland last October and notified the EU commission in Brussels.

Stationary controls with Austria have existed since 2015 and renewed multiple times to limit irregular migration and combat people- smuggling.

The controls are currently set to expire for Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland on December 15, and for Austria on November 11.

Controls were also conducted at the border with France during the Olympic Games in Paris and at all German borders during the European Football Championships in June.

Faeser, a Social Democrat, has described the checks as a success.

But the letter writers argue a recent analysis of the data showed that the effectiveness of the Interior Ministry's border measures are "highly questionable and in many cases not statistically proven."