Poland’s Tusk slams Germany’s border checks as ‘unacceptable’

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday condemned neighboring Germany’s decision to tighten border controls in its bid to clamp down on irregular migration.

“From the Polish point of view, this type of action is unacceptable,” Tusk said during a meeting of Polish diplomats.

He added that in the coming hours, Poland “will reach out to other countries affected by Berlin’s decision for urgent consultations on how to act on the EU forum on this issue. I hope that in the spirit of the European Union we will talk about it.”

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced Monday that tighter controls will be brought in temporarily at all of Germany’s land borders in order to cut down on irregular migration and improve security.

The move comes as the country’s governing coalition bids to reverse its political fortunes and hold back the far-right tide by forging ahead with tougher migration measures.

The ministry said temporary controls will be erected at Germany’s land borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

There are already additional checks in place at the Polish, Swiss and Czech borders, set to remain in force until Dec. 15, and at the Austrian border, until Nov. 11.

Tusk called Germany’s decision a “de facto suspension of the Schengen Agreement on a large scale.” The Schengen accord, first signed in 1985, now allows unrestricted travel among all nine countries that share a border with Germany.

“I have no doubt that it is the internal political situation of Germany that is causing these steps to be tightened, and not our policy toward illegal migration at our borders,” he said.

Other neighboring countries have also criticized Germany’s move.

“Austria will not accept people who are rejected from Germany. There is no room for maneuver,” Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told Germany’s Bild newspaper on Monday.

“One of our most important freedoms is being jeopardized to send a political signal. Europe will not become safer with political signals, but rather with investments to strengthen external borders and police cooperation,” Dutch MEP Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle said in a statement.

However, not all neighboring states took exception. Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said Monday that Germany’s border controls are not a threat to Czech citizens.

“This is an extension of the current measures that have been in place at the German border for several months,” he wrote on X. “This does not mean any fundamental change for the Czech Republic and its citizens at the moment. According to my information, random checks will continue.”