German, Czech, and Polish police will jointly patrol their borders to combat illegal migration, as announced by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeserova, in agreement with her Czech and Polish counterparts, Vít Rakušan and Mariusz Kamiński. This cooperative approach mirrors the successful model currently employed by Slovak police. The Czech Interior Minister had already agreed to joint Czech-German patrols on the Czech side of the border a week prior. Additionally, the three ministers have agreed to create a joint task force to target smuggling operations, as confirmed by Berlin.
Faeserova stated, “Our goal is to disrupt the inhumane activities of smuggling gangs profiting from human desperation and endangering lives. Simultaneously, we aim to detect and prevent illegal entries promptly. To achieve this, we are bolstering joint patrols involving Czech and Polish police along with our federal officers on their respective territories. Furthermore, we are establishing a joint task force to increase the pressure on smuggling groups.”
Rakušan noted that this approach is similar to the one employed with Slovakia, where joint patrols oversee traffic on the Slovak side of the border, proving highly effective. Czech police officers will join their German counterparts in patrolling, and these joint patrols can intervene on the German side when necessary.
The federal interior ministry highlighted that such joint patrols are already operational on the Polish side of the border, but their activities will be enhanced following discussions between Kamiński and Faeser during an interior ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
The joint border patrols on the Czech and Polish sides draw inspiration from Germany’s collaboration with Switzerland. This partnership allows federal German police officers to collaborate closely with Swiss police to conduct checks on Swiss territory, preventing illegal migration into Germany.
Faeser announced on Wednesday that, in response to smugglers and illegal migration, German police are implementing increased, flexible, and mobile checks along the borders with the Czech Republic and Poland. These checks will adapt to the evolving situation. Faeser also stressed the importance of a common European asylum system to address the migration crisis and protect the future of open internal borders within the EU.
While these measures aim to avert the need for permanent border controls in Germany for now, Faeser does not rule out the possibility if the situation worsens. Germany has maintained permanent checks on its border with Austria since 2015, though they are selectively implemented at specific crossings, rather than across the entire border.
Source: ceskenoviny.cz
