Some federal states are already reaching their limits when trying to accommodate both Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers from third countries. And the number of migrants on the Balkan route continues to rise. The CSU is now calling for new border controls.
Because of the increasing migration on the Balkan route, the vice-president of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz, brings up controls at the German-Czech border. “All in all, we are expecting 200,000 asylum applications this year in addition to the approximately one million registered refugees from Ukraine,” the CSU politician explained to ntv.de. “This is getting too much.”
In view of the increasing illegal migration across the border to the Czech Republic, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser must “make preparations for any stationary border controls that may become necessary,” Lindholz continued. States and municipalities could no longer. As long as the EU’s external borders are not secure, “our internal borders would have to be controlled more closely,” said the CSU MP. The Czech Republic had already introduced identity checks at the border with Slovakia in the morning to discourage illegal migrants from using this route.
Since the beginning of the year, almost 12,000 so-called transit migrants have been recorded in the Czech Republic who indicate a different destination country. Most of them are said to be Syrians. In addition, 125 suspected smugglers were arrested. “Smuggler gangs are booming again in Europe,” said Lindholz. “I welcome the Czech decision.” According to the CSU politician, stationary checks on the border with the Czech Republic could not only provide a realistic picture of the situation, but also make “the criminal business of the smugglers” more difficult.
Lindholz also called for the border controls with Austria to be extended. As a result of the Czech Republic’s decision to resume border controls, Austria also announced that it would monitor the border crossings with Slovakia more closely again, as people smugglers could avoid crossing Austria because of the controls at the Czech-Slovakian border.
Lindholz also blamed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the development. “Erdogan’s election campaign on the backs of the refugees in Turkey is increasing the migratory pressure, especially on Germany,” she criticized. “The federal government must finally act, put pressure on Ankara and take the migration crisis seriously.”
