Poland to reintroduce border controls with Germany and Lithuania in response to irregular migration

Poland has announced that it will reintroduce controls on its borders with Germany and Lithuania to prevent the “uncontrolled flow of migrants”.

The decision, announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday, comes as his government faces growing domestic criticism over Germany's policy of sending back to Poland thousands of migrants that it says have crossed the border illegally.

“We have decided to temporarily reinstate border controls at Poland's borders with Germany and Lithuania,” said Tusk, who revealed that the measures would go into force on 7 July.

“We remain advocates for freedom of movement in Europe, but the condition is the shared will of all neighbors, [through] symmetrical and united action, to minimize the uncontrolled flow of migrants across our borders,” he added.

As members of the Schengen Area, which allows free movement over borders across most of Europe, under normal circumstances there are no border checks between Poland, Germany and Lithuania.

However, countries within Schengen are permitted to reintroduce controls in emergency situations – which include public health concerns (as happened during the Covid-19 pandemic) and threats to security – if they are temporary and “a last resort measure”.

In practice, such measures can be repeatedly renewed. In 2023, Germany introduced controls on its borders with Poland and the Czech Republic in response to irregular migration, which have been continually renewed since then. Last year, it introduced such controls on all its borders .

Tusk has previously criticized Germany's actions, and he has also faced growing domestic criticism – especially from the right-wing opposition – over the fact that the German authorities are using the border controls to send back thousands of migrants to Poland.

Many of those sent back are Ukrainians. Others are non-Europeans, often from Asia and Africa, who have either claimed asylum in Poland – and therefore must remain there while their applications are processed – or have simply passed through it after entering the EU irregularly.

In March, Tusk warned that Poland may stop complying with agreements permitting such returns. Earlier this month, he said that it was “very likely” Poland would soon reintroduce controls on the German border.

Yesterday, the prime minister also revealed that Poland could introduce checks on the border with Lithanua. That is because some migrants who irregularly enter Latvia and Lithuania across the border from Belarus subsequently make their way west through Poland.

Speaking today, Tusk said that he had “spoken several times with the German chancellor, informing him that Poland's patience in this matter is running out – especially after changes in practices that make it difficult to determine whether individuals returned to Poland should actually be sent here.”

“I hope that in connection with the reinstatement of temporary border controls, any potential negative consequences from the perspective of Polish citizens' interests will be minimized,” he added.

“Our decision to temporarily reinstate border controls with Lithuania and Germany is final – regardless of the emotions prevailing in the capitals of other countries,” continued the prime minister.

In his remarks, Tusk also repeated his earlier criticism of the right-wing opposition for supporting so-called “citizen patrols” that have gathered on the Polish side of the German border with the aim of preventing migrant returns.

The prime minister said it is “shameful and scandalous…to support activists who disrupt the work of these state services, such as the border guard – including attacks on officers.”

The national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and the far-right Confederation (Konfederation), however, claim that citizens have been forced to take matters into their own hands due to the failure of the government to stand up to Germany in defense of Poland's interests.

Main image credit: Cezary Aszkielowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl