by Shelby Vcelka
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe
BERLIN, Germany–
Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, announced that Germany would impose temporary border controls on its border with Austria to deal with the massive influx of migrants. While affirming that Germany had the capacity to welcome a significant number of refugees, de Maiziere called on other European Union nations to do more, and reiterated that migrants cannot choose their host country.
Up until now, Germany has had an open policy regarding migration. However, the massive numbers of refugees, who have mainly been turned away from other countries, coming into Germany, has caused an overflow. “The aim of these measures is to limit the current inflows to Germany and to return to orderly procedures when people enter the country,” de Maiziere said at a news conference. Although this goes against the idea of the Schengen zone, which allows for free movement between several different European nations, the agreement permits individual countries to suspend the free movement on a temporary basis.
Germany has also announced that these measures are only temporary, and will only turn away migrants not fleeing war or persecution in their home country. Additional measures include shutting down borders to admit those with passports, and sending police and the army to patrol the borders. The emergency measures are a clear demonstration of how extensive the migrant crisis is, and how Germany has been stretched thin in the past couple of days.
In the meantime, trains between Germany and Austria have been suspended. They are set to resume Monday afternoon. This past Saturday alone, more than 13,000 migrants arrived in Munich, with a total of 800,000 migrants expected to arrive in total. Munich has borne the brunt of the arrivals, as it is the southernmost major city in Germany, closest to the border Austria.
The move to temporarily close the borders also serves as a threat to other European nations. de Maiziere mentioned in his statement that Germany would “first” close its borders with Austria, with the insinuation that borders with other countries would be soon to follow. The implication may be that other European Union countries will have to act to help ease the burden off of Germany.
For many migrants, the move means Germany is no longer pursuing a laissez-faire policy, and that the Dublin Rule of migration is still enforceable. With this, migrants will be forced to register with the first country they arrive in, and any others outside the strict migration quota will be turned away.
For more information, please see–
BBC–Migrant crisis: Germany to start temporary border controls— 13 September 2015
The Telegraph–Border controls return to Europe as continent struggles with refugee crisis— 13 September 2015
Time–Germany Imposes Emergency Border Controls as Migrants Continue to Arrive— 13 September 2015
USA Today–Germany imposes emergency border controls— 13 September 2015
Wall Street Journal–Germany Imposes Border Checks Amid Migrant Wave— 13 September 2015
