Tue Sep 10 17:09:35 UTC 2024: ## Poland Condemns Germany’s Border Control Tightening, Strains Already Tensed Relations
**Warsaw, Poland -** Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has sharply criticized Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls at all its land borders, including the one it shares with Poland. The move, announced by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Monday, will take effect on September 16th and is aimed at combating irregular migration.
Tusk deemed the action “unacceptable” from Poland’s perspective, arguing that it stems from Germany’s internal political situation and not from any Polish policies regarding illegal migration.
“What Poland needs is not a strengthening of controls on our border, but a strengthening of the participation of states, including those such as Germany, in guarding and securing the external borders of the European Union,” Tusk added, referencing Poland’s shared borders with Belarus, Ukraine, and Kaliningrad.
The announcement further strains already strained relations between Berlin and Warsaw. Poland’s recent refusal to comply with a German request to arrest a Ukrainian citizen suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline destruction has exacerbated tensions.
In response, Poland will urge other countries affected by Germany’s decision to consult with German neighbors on potential EU action.
Meanwhile, Austria has declared it will not take back migrants turned away by Germany at the Austro-German border, while Denmark notes that the new controls will have minimal impact on its own border with Germany, which has already had controls in place since 2016.
In the Netherlands, the leader of the largest party in parliament, Geert Wilders, has called for similar border control measures.
Czechia, however, has maintained that the move is simply an extension of existing measures and will not pose a significant change for the Czech Republic.
First Piper 