Germany: Border controls will stay
EUROPE’S border-free travel zone was nearing collapse last night as Germany announced it would keep the check points it reintroduced on its frontiers to stem the flow of migrants.
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said he could ‘not foresee a moment’ when the emergency measures put in place in September would be lifted.
Under the Schengen Agreement, 26 European countries had removed all border controls between each other, but this has unravelled as the migrant crisis has taken hold.
Yesterday in Davos, Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warned that the EU had just weeks to find a solution to avoid its demise.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel faced renewed pressure yesterday to limit the number of people entering her country as it was revealed that some asylum seekers are suing her government for taking too long to process their applications.
More than 200 migrants in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia have launched a lawsuit against the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees as they have been waiting more than a year to hear whether they can stay. The cases are being heard in several courts across the state, including Cologne, where more than 800 women reported being sexually abused or robbed on New Year’s Eve.
Last night, the BBC reported sales of pepper spray and gas-powered pistols in Germany had spiked after the attacks, which were blamed on migrants. Shopkeepers reported scores of concerned women purchasing weapons for self-defence.
The refugee authority is struggling to cope with the backlog of applications after the arrival of more than a million people last year. Around 360,000 unprocessed applications are stuck in the bureaucratic logjam. At least two German states are forcing migrants to hand over valuables to pay for their upkeep, Bild reported yesterday. The newspaper said that in Bavaria migrants are allowed to keep only up to £570 worth of property. The neighbouring state of BadenWuerttemberg limits them to £265 worth.
Officials say refugees are treated in the same way as German residents who have to use up their own funds before receiving basic welfare payments. Denmark and Switzerland are introducing similar measures.
Germany first imposed a ten-day control at its border with Austria at the start of September – a month after Mrs Merkel announced her open-door policy for refugees.
EU rules allow for border checks for up to six months, but this can be extended to two years if it is determined that gaps in security pose a major threat to the travel zone.
Austria plans to limit the number allowed to apply for asylum there to 37,500, raising the prospect of a ‘domino effect’ in Europe.
A Danish city has denied it is trying to deter Muslim migrants from moving there after it ordered that pork should be served on all menus in its schools.
Frank Noergaard, a member of the council in Randers that approved the decision, said it was to ensure pork remains ‘a central part of Denmark’s food culture’.