Germany will extend its temporary border controls for a further six months, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday, saying the move remains necessary amid what it described as the absence of a “functional European migration policy.”
Spot checks first introduced in September 2024 will now remain in force until at least mid-September 2026, having already been extended twice, ministry spokesman Leonard Kaminski said.
“Local authorities are still overwhelmed,” Kaminski told reporters. “We have to do more here so that we get to a situation that is sustainable for our country, for our society.”
Under the Schengen Agreement, which covers most of Western and Central Europe, internal border checks are largely abolished, with limited exceptions permitted during emergencies.
Germany, along with several neighbouring countries including Poland and Austria, reintroduced checks citing threats to order and security stemming from irregular migration.
The previous government led by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz began the controls following a series of deadly attacks carried out by foreign nationals.
Since taking office in May, a coalition led by conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has increased police deployments at the borders in a bid to turn back more arrivals.
Kaminski said reforms to migration policy were underway but acknowledged that further steps were needed. “An overhaul of migration policy has begun, but we haven’t reached the end of the road,” he said, adding that migration management must be brought “into order.”
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In December, Merz said he expected the measures to end once joint European Union action strengthened controls at the bloc’s external borders.
However, Germany has maintained the checks despite a court ruling in June that found the government had acted unlawfully by returning three Somali asylum seekers to Poland without properly examining their claims.
Between mid-September last year and the end of January, nearly 50,000 people were turned back at Germany’s borders as a result of the controls, according to the Interior Ministry.
Since assuming office, Merz has adopted a tougher stance on migration, including deporting some convicted criminals to Afghanistan and tightening rules on family reunification for refugees.
The anti-migration Alternative for Germany party is currently polling at levels similar to Merz’s conservative CDU, reflecting heightened political debate over migration policy in Europe’s largest economy.