Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced this decision at a cabinet meeting on July 1. The control procedure will be introduced from July 7 at 52 crossing points of the Polish-German border, and 13 points of the border with Lithuania. The checks will be carried out only when entering the country, but at the same time, the authorities have declared a “high alert mode” throughout Poland.
As notes Euronews, the Polish authorities’ decision was made “in response to the German government’s tightening migration policy,” but critics consider it incompatible with Schengen norms.
The publication reminds that since Poland, Germany and Lithuania are part of the Schengen zone, the main idea of which is to ensure the free movement of citizens within this space, checks for passage across the borders between them can be carried out only in exceptional cases. As was the case in pandemic conditions from COVID-19. Or when there is a clear threat to a country’s security.
In Warsaw, they believe that the measures taken are precisely designed to ensure the country’s security and protect it from the flow of illegal migrants. And they cite the example of Germany, which in 2023 introduced border controls first on the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic to combat illegal immigrants, and last year extended these measures to all its borders.
Unsurprisingly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz all but endorsed Poland’s initiative. “Of course we want to preserve the Schengen zone, but the principle of free movement within it will work in the long term if it is not used by those who facilitate illegal migration, especially smugglers,” Euronews quoted Merz as saying.
Warsaw emphasized that together with Lithuania they would control the flow of migrants from Belarus and the Baltic States.
Recall that many Moldovan citizens when traveling to Russia and other post-Soviet countries also mainly use the route through Poland and the Baltics. The same route is used by Moldovan companies for transportation of passengers and cargo. Obviously, the restrictive measures of the Polish authorities will considerably complicate their movement, which should be taken into account.
Warsaw announced that the control at the borders with Germany and Lithuania will be temporary. But at the same time did not indicate the period for which this measure is introduced. And in practice, they can be extended several times.
