Woidke in favor of joint controls by Germany and Poland

Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) believes that joint border controls between Germany and Poland make sense. "The federal government is responsible for securing Germany's external borders. However, I still see room for improvement in the coordination with the Polish side," Woidke told the "Märkische Oderzeitung" (Saturday). "As a former coordinator for Poland, I also ask myself why border controls are not carried out jointly by German and Polish police forces. A signal from the German government is overdue here."

Poland wants to temporarily introduce its own controls at the German-Polish border from July 7 in response to German border controls. Germany has already been carrying out random checks at the border with Poland since October 2023 to stop irregular migration. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) had ordered more intensive border controls shortly after the new federal government took office in May.

Poland's government expects the controls at the border with Germany, which begin on Monday, to have a negative impact on traffic in the region. There are already traffic jams on the Polish side due to the German controls. The head of the Brandenburg government also believes that the federal government has a role to play here: traffic could be eased by creating a third lane for controls in the border area on the A12, said Woidke.