Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that border controls in Germany will remain in place for another six months. Immigration and border control have become key topics in the upcoming February 23 elections.
The current temporary border controls in Germany are set to expire in March, the German Chancellor has decided to extend them for an additional six months.
With less than two weeks to go until Germany’s federal election, analysts believe this move will play a significant role in the campaign.
Scholz informed the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, of this decision.
Germany introduced these controls in September last year to manage irregular immigration. Since then, 47,000 people have been turned back at the border, 19 human traffickers have been arrested, according to the German Chancellor. Asylum applications have also decreased by one-third in 2024 compared to 2023.
The border control extension will remain in effect until mid-September this year.
Following several incidents involving migrants and asylum seekers, Scholz’s centrist Social Democratic Party (SPD) has faced widespread criticism for its immigration policies.
Recent pre-election surveys show the SPD in third place with around 16% of the vote. If this trend holds, it will mark the party’s worst election result in history.
In terms of popularity, the conservative CDU/CSU is in first place, immigration control has become a major electoral promise for the party.
LND/SAKIB
