The German government has suspended the passport-free Schengen Area access scheme and has imposed tighter border security measures following an Islamist stabbing last month.
Citing German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, Reuters reported that controls within the Schengen zone would begin on Sept. 16 and would initially last for six months. Faeser said Berlin has also designed a scheme enabling authorities to reject more migrants directly at German borders.
According to the interior minister, the border measures sought to protect Germany against Islamic extremism following a series of murders and attempted murders committed by immigrants in the last few weeks. One such attack happened in August, where a Syrian migrant killed three during a stabbing attack in the western German city of Solingen. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria reportedly claimed responsibility for the stabbing. (Related: Germany: Murder victims in the Solingen massacre were activists in favor of 'tolerance' and 'integration.')
"The restrictions are part of a series of measures Germany has taken to toughen its stance on irregular migration in recent years following a surge in arrivals, in particular people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East," Reuters reported.
"The intention of the government seems to be to show symbolically to Germans and potential migrants that the latter are no longer wanted here," said Marcus Engler at the German Center for Integration and Migration Research.
Germany's neighbors also expected to close their borders
Germany had taken in more than a million people, mostly fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, during the 2015-2016 migrant crisis. Since then, the German government has agreed to tighter deportation rules. The Germans have also resumed flying convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country.
Last year, Berlin also announced stricter controls on its land borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Those, along with the controls on the border with Austria, had allowed Germany to return 30,000 migrants since October last year.
According to Eurointelligence, the Schengen rules require an overriding national security interest. In line with that development, it added that the collateral damage will be huge.
"Austria already said it would not take in any immigrants rejected by Germany. So Austria will almost surely do the same and close its border. Nobody to the east and south-east of Germany has the physical capacity and political willingness to absorb immigrants. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia will all do the same," Reuters reported.
"[It is assumed] that Switzerland, not a member of the EU but a member of Schengen, will follow. Italy has no border to close, but France does. Germany has now become an active participant in the beggar-thy-neighbor refugee policies of EU member states. This is a serious threat to the whole idea of Schengen."
Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, warned her colleagues not to endanger the European Union's migration deal and not to succumb to the illusion that European countries can solve the refugee problem at a national level.
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Watch this video of two federal police officers at the German border estimating that around 500,000 soldiers are waiting for the day migrants can come in without any restrictions.
This video is from the Auriga Books channel on Brighteon.com.
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