BERLIN: Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday announced that Germany will extend controls along all its borders by six months past their planned expiry date in mid-March.
“Today, we have again ordered temporary controls at all German borders for six months and notified the European Commission,” Scholz said ahead of February 23 elections in which immigration is a major theme.
Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) have come under heavy pressure on the issue after a spate of recent deadly attacks blamed on migrants and asylum seekers.
The SPD are on course for their worst-ever election result of around 16 percent according to current polling, while the centre-right CDU/CSU – who have promised a crackdown on irregular migrants – are leading on around 30 percent.
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Scholz said that Wednesday’s announcement showed his intention to “remain resolute in the fight against irregular migration”.
He said that to date, the checks had resulted in “47,000 people being turned back at the border”.
He also cited figures showing asylum applications had fallen by a third last year from 2023 and that 1,900 people smugglers had been arrested. `
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