Calls in Germany to extend border checks after Euros to stem migrants

A German lawmaker called for an extension of border checks that were temporarily tightened for the European Football Championships, in a bid to curb irregular migration on Saturday.

The parliamentary group leader of the junior coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP), Christian Dürr, made the call after some of Germany's 16 state interior ministers called for the extension.

Berlin introduced temporary checks at all German borders during the Euro 2024 championship that runs until Sunday for greater security during the major international event, aiming to prevent trouble from extremists, hooligans and other perpetrators of violence.

Usually there are no regular border checks and only very limited random spot checks at the land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland as all four countries are members of the Schengen free-movement area.

But Germany has repeatedly invoked temporary powers to tighten border checks in recent years to control the flow of migrants and asylum seekers. Similar border checks were reimposed along Germany's border with Austria in 2015 and remain in effect.

Germany's federal police however opposed the calls to extend the checks beyond July 19 as initially agreed, pointing to shortages of equipment and personnel.

The German Interior Ministry recently published figures on temporary border checks from June 7 to 27, saying some 600 outstanding arrest warrants were executed and around 150 smugglers were provisionally detained.

"Entry prevention measures" were taken in around 3,200 cases, the ministry said.

Dürr said the police checks were "very effective in apprehending those who want to enter the country illegally."

"I think it is worth considering retaining the border checks that we introduced for the European Championships," he told the Funke Media Group newspapers.