GERMANY HAS BEGUN random checks at land borders it shares with five Western European nations as it seeks to crack down on irregular migration, expanding a system of controls that are already in place at four other borders.
The police controls began at the borders with France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Denmark this morning and are due to continue for six months.
Germany has already been carrying out the checks at its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland since last year.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has angered neighbouring countries with the new restrictions on movement. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently described the checks as a “de facto suspension of the Schengen Agreement on a large scale”. The government of Austria has also voiced its displeasure with the new arrangements.
According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce controls at the EU’s so-called internal …