In recent years, Townhall has covered several instances where different European countries have tightened their border restrictions.
In one instance, Finland shut down its border with Russia. Finland initially closed its land borders with Russia in 2023 due to “weaponized migration” from Russia. Many migrants from countries like Syria and Somalia came through the border. This “weaponized migration” was presumably due to the fact that Finland joined the NATO military alliance.
This shutdown was extended.
This month, reports indicated that another European country would tighten its border controls.
Late last week, reports broke that incoming German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt plans to order increased controls at the country’s borders. This includes rejecting more illegal immigrants.
Dobrindt reportedly told Bild, one of the country’s largest newspapers, "The first decisions will be made after taking office this Wednesday. This will include ramping up border controls and increasing rejections.”
Dobrindt asserted that the borders would not shut down.
"The numbers of illegal migration must come down. To achieve both humanity and order, control, clarity and consistency are needed. We are preparing national and European decisions for this," Dobrindt continued.
Thorsten Frei, the new head of the Chancellery, reportedly added. “Anyone who tries to enter Germany illegally must expect to be stopped at the German border from May 6,”
Predictably, some of Germany’s neighbors spoke out against this news.
“The current controls at the German-Polish border are already a problem for daily border traffic and the functioning of the EU internal market,” Poland’s chief diplomat in Berlin, Jan Tombiński, told POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook. “We therefore do not want to see a tightening of border controls.”
Luxembourg's Interior Minister Léon Gloden reportedly said, "We must avoid creating borders in people's minds again.”
“Unnecessary disruptions to cross-border traffic must be avoided, in the interest of the daily lives of the people in the Greater region," Gloden added.
On the other hand, one spokesperson for the Austrian interior ministry told POLITICO, “We are confident that the actions of the German authorities at the EU’s internal borders are in line with the legal system.”
“The European Court of Justice has ruled that informal returns are not legally possible when an application for asylum is made,” they added.