Germany Begins Conducting Border Checks09/16 06:16

   

   KEHL, Germany (AP) -- Germany on Monday began random checks at its borders 
with five Western European nations as it seeks to crack down on irregular 
migration, expanding a system of mobile border controls that are already in 
place at four other borders.

   The checks began at the borders with France, the Netherlands, Belgium, 
Luxembourg and Denmark before dawn Monday, and are initially scheduled for six 
months. Germany has already been carrying out the checks at its borders with 
Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland since last year.

   Germany, a member of the 27-member European Union, announced last week that 
it was expanding border checks to all nine of its land borders this week as 
part of an effort to crack down on irregular migration and crime following 
recent extremist attacks. Those include a knife attack blamed on a Syrian 
asylum-seeker in Solingen last month that killed three people. The suspect 
claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State group. In June, a knife attack 
attributed to an Afghan immigrant left a police officer dead and four other 
people wounded.

   The border controls are testing European unity because the border checks are 
seen by some as a step away from the spirit of the EU's free travel and trade 
arrangement known as Schengen. The freedom Europeans have to travel freely 
across borders for work and pleasure is one of the most beloved benefits of the 
EU.

   Germany, the EU's largest country, is located in the heart of Europe and 
borders more countries than any other EU member. Some trade unions have 
expressed concerns that the controls could hurt trade.

   But a return to a past system with closed borders and mandatory border 
checks for every person crossing the border is not in the cards.

   Still, German police say the expanded checks already pose a major challenge 
to them.

   Andreas Rosskopf, the head of Germany's Federal Police Union, said anyone 
crossing the border into Germany should now expect to be checked. But he also 
acknowledged that given the length of the country's borders, police 
realistically won't be able to stop and check every vehicle.

   He noted that Germany has 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) on its western 
border, in addition to the 2,400 kilometers (1,490 miles) along its eastern and 
southern borders where the checks were already taking place.

   He said in an interview on RBB24 Inforadio that "given the length of the 
border, permanent and intensive checks are not possible." He added that "it 
remains to be seen how successful it will be in curbing migration and people 
smuggling."

   According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce 
controls at the EU's so-called internal borders in case of a serious threat, 
such as one to internal security. But it also says border controls should be 
applied as a last resort in exceptional situations and must be time limited.

   Such limitations are often put in place during major sporting events, 
including the recent Olympic Games in Paris and the European soccer 
championship.

   The unpopular coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has imposed the 
border controls as it seeks to crack down on irregular immigration after the 
far right did well in two recent state elections in eastern Germany. Another is 
coming next Sunday in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin.