For the next six months the checks will be in place at the nation's border posts with its neighbors – fellow signatories to the Schengen free movement agreement.
#migration #EU #germany
#migration #EU #germany
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00:00The new normal. For the next six months, German police are carrying out extra checks at the nation's border posts with its neighbors,
00:08fellow signatories to the Schengen Free Movement Agreement.
00:12The checks are targeted at vehicles where we suspect illegal immigration.
00:18By doing so, we want to keep the inconvenience of commuters and the transfer of goods to a minimum.
00:25There had been a large amount of pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition to take action on migration after a fatal stabbing back in August.
00:34The main suspect has been identified as a failed asylum applicant from Syria.
00:40Results in local elections in Saxony and Thuringia, where the far-right anti-migration AfD party picked up major gains,
00:49also ramped up calls for Scholz to do something about irregular migration into Germany.
00:55However, freedom of movement across borders is a big part of European identity.
01:01It is enshrined in the Schengen Agreement, named for the small town in Luxembourg, bordering France and Germany, where it was signed in 1985.
01:09It allows for the removal of border checks between the vast majority of EU states, as well as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
01:17Among those living in this area, opinion is pretty much split over Germany's decision to introduce this additional border security.
01:26My opinion is, it probably needs to be checked for the time being to ensure that you have an overview and then you can just switch back to the old mode. It's that simple.
01:37We were used to this, we were used to Schengen, we were used to no borders, free travelling around countries.
01:43And this, I think, defeats the purpose of the European Union, defeats the purpose of Schengen, it defeats the purpose of being European citizens.
01:51German authorities must find the balance between protecting national boundaries and keeping commuters and everyday traffic moving.
01:58The majority of migration is understood to come through Germany's eastern borders, along routes that have been active since the migration crisis of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people arrived to claim asylum.
02:11However, the latest checks apply to all crossing points with Germany's nine neighbouring countries. Please say this is essential.
02:20Last week, there was a larger group of Syrian citizens whom we intercepted in a regional train from Strasbourg. There were 15 of them.
02:27We notice illegal migration on a daily basis, which shows us that illegal migration is happening and that our focus is right as far as the German-French border is concerned.
02:38The checks are set to remain in place for the next six months, despite criticism from Germany's EU partners, including Poland and Greece,
02:47who have accused Berlin of putting freedom of movement, cornerstone of the European Union bloc, at risk.
02:54Peter Oliver, CGTN, Schengen, Luxembourg.