Latest news with #AndreasRosskopf
France 24
07-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Poland starts border checks with Germany in anti-migrant clampdown
Border guards and military police could be seen looking into passing cars and occasionally stopping vehicles for document checks on the bridge connecting the Polish town of Slubice with Frankfurt an der Oder in Germany. The new checks are a response to growing anti-migrant sentiment on both sides of the border. Poland says hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, cross into the Baltic states from Belarus every month, then travel through Poland into Germany. The issue has become a particularly sensitive one in Polish domestic politics and has led to tensions with Germany. Warsaw has accused Berlin of sending the irregular migrants it manages to intercept back into Poland. "The checks being implemented aim to combat illegal migration," Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak was quoted as saying by his ministry on X. Shortly after the new checks came into force on Monday, Polish border guards detained a man for assisting irregular migration. The Estonian national is accused of transporting four irregular migrants, believed to be from Afghanistan. Siemoniak said the detention was "proof that these checks are necessary". 'Ping-pong game' Germany, which introduced checks on the border with Poland in 2023, has welcomed the Polish initiative and called for collaboration against a common problem. Speaking to the daily Rheinische Post, the head of German police union GdP, Andreas Rosskopf, said the two countries needed a "workable procedure". He warned against Polish and German border guards engaging in a "ping-pong game" with asylum seekers by sending them back and forth. Representatives of German business associations have also voiced concern. "We are receiving worrying feedback from the business community," Helena Melnikov, chief executive of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told the Handelsblatt newspaper. "If commuters can no longer get to work reliably and on time at the German-Polish border, there is an increased risk that they will look for work elsewhere on a permanent basis –- with consequences for the shortage of skilled workers in border regions," she said. Marek Klodnicki, an administrative employee who lives in Slubice but works in Germany, said the re-introduction of border controls was "very sad". "We have waited so long for open borders," he said, adding that the checks would result in "a disruption in social and economic life". Business owners, particularly hairdressers and tobacco shops, which get a lot of custom from Germans crossing the border, also voiced concern the checks could disrupt business. "Ninety percent of our customers are Germans. We may have less traffic, less revenue," Kinga Dziuba, a 29-year-old cigarette vendor, told AFP. But Dziuba said the checks were "very much needed" to control migration, adding: "Security is more important to me than trade". The issue of migration was central to June's presidential election in Poland, where nationalist Karol Nawrocki -- who ran on a slogan of "Poland first, Poles first" -- narrowly defeated the candidate backed by pro-European Union Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The Tusk government is now seeking to outflank its rivals by taking a tougher approach to immigration. Checks 'unnecessary' In total, 52 checkpoints have been set up on the border with Germany and 13 with Lithuania, Siemoniak said. The controls will last from July 7 to August 5 but could be extended. They will mostly consist of spot inspections, particularly of vehicles carrying several people, officials said. In June, members of a far-right movement gathered at several points along the border to set up "citizens' patrols", which the government insists are illegal. In Slubice, Edyta Taryma, a 54-year-old hair salon owner, said her revenues had already dropped by 20 percent after Germany re-imposed border controls. "A great many people did not come, or came less often, because they were afraid of traffic jams," she said. She called the checks "unnecessary".
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Germany urges Dutch to crack down on citizens' border checks
BERLIN, June 10 (Reuters) - Germany's interior minister and the head of its federal police union on Tuesday criticised unofficial border checks by citizens in the Netherlands, saying they expected decisive action from the Dutch authorities to stamp out such practices. A group of citizens carried out their own checks near the northern Dutch town of Ter Apel on Saturday evening, stopping vehicles to look for asylum seekers, local broadcaster RTV Noord reported on Sunday. The news comes a few days after Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders toppled the ruling coalition in a dispute over migration policy. While Wilders' party only shared power in the government, his anti-immigration views have shaped Dutch policy for decades. The Netherlands has some of the European Union's toughest policies on asylum and immigration. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday there was no legal basis for the citizens' action. "I believe we will indeed take another look at this if this phenomenon continues ... I also assume that the authorities will end such measures," Dobrindt, who introduced stricter border controls and immediate rejections for asylum seekers last month, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The head of Germany's Federal Police Union, Andreas Rosskopf, said the Dutch authorities' reaction had been "a bit too little", and urged greater efforts to avoid escalation. "It must be clear that citizens without legal authority have no right to intervene, to monitor, and ultimately to carry out the tasks of the security authorities, the police authorities," Rosskopf told journalists. Dutch broadcaster RTL reported that police found no criminal offence when they arrived at the scene. Caretaker Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said citizens' frustration was understandable but that they must not take the law into their own hands. "Let the police and military police do their job," he said on social media platform X on Sunday. Dutch immigration has slowed significantly from a peak in 2022. The Netherlands received almost two first-time asylum applications per 1,000 inhabitants in 2024, slightly below the EU average, according to Eurostat data.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
German police union wants AI support after Hamburg knife attack
The head of Germany's GdP police union has called for technical support using artificial intelligence (AI) for law-enforcers following Friday's knife attack that left 18 people injured at Hamburg Central Station. "Unfortunately, such attacks can never be prevented 100%," said union chief Andreas Rosskopf, according to the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. However, there is now an urgent need for the federal police to be able to carry out comprehensive checks at railway stations, Rosskopf stressed. He advocated using AI-supported camera technology "that also includes behaviour recognition so that such behavioural anomalies can be detected in advance." Early on Friday evening, 18 people were injured in a knife attack on a crowded station platform, four of them critically. Police arrested a 39-year-old woman at the scene who is to be brought before a magistrate on Saturday.
Russia Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Germany's border crackdown can only last ‘a few more weeks'
Germany's new border crackdown can only be sustained for 'a few more weeks,' the country's police union has warned, citing mounting pressure on officers tasked with enforcing the policy. The warning comes two weeks after the government introduced stricter border controls to curb the number of asylum seekers entering the country. 'We can only manage this because duty rosters have been adjusted, training for the units is currently on hold, and the reduction of overtime has been halted,' Andreas Rosskopf, chairman of the Federal Police and Customs division of the German Police Union, said. He warned that the controls can only be sustained 'for a few more weeks.' The measures represent a major shift in Germany's migration stance and fulfill a key campaign promise of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who vowed to tighten the immigration laws. The May 7 order from Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt bans asylum applications at all land borders, reversing former Chancellor Angela Merkel's 2015 open-border policy. Exceptions are made for children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups. Up to 3,000 officers are being added to the 11,000 already stationed at Germany's borders. The 2015 policy defined Germany's approach to refugees, while also drawing fierce political backlash, with critics calling it 'disastrous.' A week after the measures were announced, Dobrindt claimed that the number of rejections increased by almost a half. However, according to Der Spiegel, the number of asylum applications remained largely stable in the week after May 7. As the EU's largest economy, Germany has been the most popular destination for asylum seekers. According to official statistics, foreigners currently make up 17% of the country's population. Migration remains a polarizing issue, with local authorities often warning that the number of asylum seekers is straining their budgets. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is known for its strong anti-immigration stance, was designated a 'confirmed extremist entity' earlier this month by the domestic intelligence agency (BfV), which said its activities could threaten Germany's democratic order. The designation was later suspended after legal appeals and public outcry.
DW
19-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
Germany updates: Police say extra border checks unustainable – DW – 05/19/2025
The German Police Union (GdP) is warning that intensified border checks and asylum rejections cannot go on much longer amid staff shortages and suspended training. GdP chief Andreas Rosskopf said the measures rely on adjusted rosters, canceled leave, and paused training. Over 1,000 riot police are currently deployed at the borders after Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt recently tightened controls, with turnbacks up by nearly a half. Meanwhile, an Iraqi couple are on trial in Germany accused of enslaving and abusing two Yazidi girls. Here's a roundup of top news stories from Germany on Monday, May 19.
