
Poland reinstates border controls with Germany and Lithuania to discourage asylum-seekers
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government recently survived a confidence vote in parliament, announced the restrictions last week. Pressure has been mounting after far-right groups in Poland have alleged Germany was transporting migrants into Polish territory after they reached Western Europe.
The reinstated controls, which began overnight Sunday, will last for an initial period of 30 days, though authorities have not ruled out extending them, according to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.
'Illegal migration is simply a crime,' Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Sunday during a news conference.
The Polish border with Lithuania, which stretches 104 kilometers (65 miles), will see checks in 13 locations. Poland's border with Germany, 467 kilometers (290 miles) long, will have controls at 52 crossing points.
After taking office in May, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who made a tougher migration policy a pillar of his election campaign, ordered more police at the border and said some asylum-seekers trying to enter Europe's biggest economy would be turned away.
Last week, Merz said Poland and Germany were in close contact to keep the impact of Germany's border controls 'as low as possible.'
The European Union has a visa-free travel area, known as Schengen, that allows citizens of most member states to travel easily across borders for work and pleasure. Switzerland also belongs to Schengen although it is not an EU member.
According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce border controls in cases of a serious threat, like internal security. It says border controls should be applied as a last resort in exceptional situations, and must be limited in time.
__
Associated Press videojournalist Rafal Niedzielski in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP's global coverage of migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
15 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Russia's ex-minister found dead hours after being fired, investigators believe he killed himself
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian's transport minister was found dead Monday, hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, in what officials called an apparent suicide. Roman Starovoyt, who served as Russia's transport minister since May 2024, was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day. Hours later, the body of Starovoyt, 53, was found in his car with a gunshot wound, according to Russia's Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency. A criminal probe has been launched into Starovoyt's death and investigators see suicide as the most likely cause, according to committee's spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. Russian media have reported that Starovoyt's dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region where he served as governor before being appointed transportation minister. The alleged embezzlement has been named as one of the reasons behind deficiencies in Russia's defensive lines that failed to stem a Ukrainian incursion in the region that was launched in August 2024. Starovoyt's successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement charges in April. Some Russian media have alleged that Starovoyt also could have faced charges as part of the investigation. Starovoyt's dismissal also followed a weekend of travel chaos as Russian airports were forced to ground hundreds of flights due to Ukrainian drone attacks. An official order releasing Starovoyt from his post was published on the Kremlin's website Monday morning. It did not give a reason for his dismissal from the post, which Starovoyt has held since May 2024. Shortly before the news about Starovoyt's death broke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the reasons behind his dismissal. Peskov praised Starovoyt's replacement, Andrei Nikitin, who had been appointed deputy transport minister five months ago.


Toronto Star
15 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Russia's ex-minister found dead hours after being fired, investigators believe he killed himself
FILE - Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, file) AZ flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :


Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- Toronto Star
EU commission chief von der Leyen faces a no-confidence vote this week
BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the European Union's executive branch, Ursula von der Leyen, faces a no-confidence vote this week linked in part to text messages she exchanged with a pharmaceutical boss during the COVID-19 pandemic. EU lawmakers will debate von der Leyen's future at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Monday in the European Commission president's presence, and vote on a censure motion on Thursday. The commission proposes EU laws and supervises whether those that enter force are respected.