Poland introduces border controls with Germany from 7 July

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the introduction of temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania on Tuesday following a cabinet meeting. The measure will take effect next Monday. Tusk justified the move with Germany's unilateral controls, which have been in place for months and are now also turning away asylum seekers at the border. "We were warned that people would be sent back to Poland," Tusk said. His country's patience has now run out.

He stressed: "We are aware that this decision will have an impact on freedom of movement, but there is no other way."

In the Schengen Area, no stationary controls at internal borders are actually planned. However, Germany had already reintroduced random checks at the Polish border in October 2023 to combat irregular migration. Following the change of government in Berlin, these measures were intensified – including pushbacks. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) issued corresponding instructions in May.

Travelers traveling from the Czech Republic via Germany to Poland, for example, must expect checks starting next Monday. Anyone traveling from Austria via Bavaria and Saxony to Poland, for example, will have to prepare for waiting times.

The development was also closely observed on the German side. Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared on Tuesday that the country wanted to solve the "common problem" of migration together. Berlin was "in close contact with the Polish government" to minimize the burden.

The measure directly affects not only regular border traffic, but also transit traffic through Germany to Poland – for example, from Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, or Italy. Increased controls are expected, particularly along the A4 motorway (Dresden – Görlitz) and at the border crossings in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.