Latest news with #migrationpolicy
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Poland reinstates border controls with Germany and Lithuania to discourage asylum-seekers
SLUBICE, Poland (AP) — Poland reinstated border controls on Monday with neighboring Germany and Lithuania following similar German restrictions imposed earlier this year aimed at discouraging 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
Al Arabiya
01-07-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Poland Will Temporarily Reinstate Border Controls With Germany and Lithuania
Poland will temporarily reinstate border controls with neighboring Germany and Lithuania, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday. The decision comes after new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a tougher migration policy a pillar of his election campaign in February. After he took office in May, Germany stationed more police at the border and said some asylum-seekers trying to enter Europe's biggest economy would be turned away. Even before that, Merz's predecessor in February had extended by six months the border checks it imposed on all its frontiers last fall as it attempted to cut the number of migrants arriving in the country. 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. In the past, Tusk has repeatedly denounced Germany's temporary border measures as 'unacceptable.' Several of Germany's neighbors have recently expressed dismay at the enforced border controls by Berlin, saying it slows down cross-border traffic of daily commuters and threatens visa-free Schengen travel. Tusk said Tuesday the temporary measures will come into force on Monday, the Polish news agency PAP reported. Just before Tusk announced the move, Merz had told reporters at a press conference in Berlin that his government was in very close contact with the Polish government to keep the impact of Germany's border controls with Poland as low as possible.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland will temporarily reinstate border controls with Germany and Lithuania
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland will temporarily reinstate border controls with neighboring Germany and Lithuania, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday. The decision comes after new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made tougher migration policy a pillar of his election campaign in February. After he took office in May, Germany stationed more police at the border and said some asylum-seekers trying to enter Europe's biggest economy would be turned away. Even before that, Merz's predecessor in February had extended by six months the border checks it imposed on all its frontiers last fall as it attempted to cut the number of migrants arriving in the country. 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. In the past, Tusk has repeatedly denounced Germany's temporary border measures as 'unacceptable.' Several of Germany's neighbors have recently expressed dismay at the enforced border controls by Berlin, saying it slows down cross-border traffic of daily commuters and threatens visa-free Schengen travel. Tusk said Tuesday the temporary measures will come into force on Monday, the Polish news agency PAP reported. Just before Tusk announced the move, Merz had told reporters at a press conference in Berlin that his government was in very close contact with the Polish government to keep the impact of Germany's border controls with Poland 'as low as possible.' ___ Follow AP's global coverage of migration at
The Independent
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Poland will temporarily reinstate border controls with Germany and Lithuania
Poland will temporarily reinstate border controls with neighboring Germany and Lithuania, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday. The decision comes after new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made tougher migration policy a pillar of his election campaign in February. After he took office in May, Germany stationed more police at the border and said some asylum-seekers trying to enter Europe's biggest economy would be turned away. Even before that, Merz's predecessor in February had extended by six months the border checks it imposed on all its frontiers last fall as it attempted to cut the number of migrants arriving in the country. 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. In the past, Tusk has repeatedly denounced Germany's temporary border measures as 'unacceptable.' Several of Germany's neighbors have recently expressed dismay at the enforced border controls by Berlin, saying it slows down cross-border traffic of daily commuters and threatens visa-free Schengen travel. Tusk said Tuesday the temporary measures will come into force on Monday, the Polish news agency PAP reported. Just before Tusk announced the move, Merz had told reporters at a press conference in Berlin that his government was in very close contact with the Polish government to keep the impact of Germany's border controls with Poland 'as low as possible.' ___
Telegraph
01-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Chefs and plasterers to be banned from recruiting from abroad
Butchers, chefs and plasterers are to be stripped of their ability to recruit from abroad under government plans. Veterinary nurses, teaching assistants, office managers and air travel assistants will also be among 111 occupations that will no longer be deemed to have a shortage of workers. Migrants can only obtain a job if it is graduate-level or above in an attempt to end low-paid migration, making the 111 occupations ineligible. These measures are the first to be introduced from the Government's Immigration White Paper to tighten controls and cut migration to the UK. A new time-limited temporary shortage list will be introduced until the end of 2026 for below degree level, where ministers say recruiting foreign workers is key to building critical infrastructure or industrial strategy. These will be determined on advice from the Migration Advisory Committee. But those workers will no longer be able to bring their families and will not be entitled to salary and visa fee discounts. The Home Office also confirmed that the recruitment of foreign workers into the care sector will end. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said: 'We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years. 'These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK.' The changes, if approved by MPs and peers, will come into force from July 22. Further measures from the White Paper, such as increasing English language requirements and raising the immigration skills charge, are also expected to be in place by the end of the year. The White Paper is aimed at cutting net migration from record levels, clamping down on abuses of the system and ending a reliance on cheap foreign labour. Home Office estimates indicate that the number of people coming to the UK could be reduced by up to 100,000 per year, when looking at eight of its proposals, including on study and work routes and a higher level of English language requirement. But the move to scrap care worker visas has sparked concerns from the sector. Will Dalton, the GMB union national officer, described the decision as 'potentially catastrophic' because the care sector is 'utterly reliant on migrant workers' and still has more than 130,000 vacancies across the country. The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by 'rogue' providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up. Transitional arrangements for overseas care workers already in the UK have also been set out, according to the department.
