PM of Saxony calls for Czech-Polish border controls to combat migration
The prime minister of the German state of Saxony has called for checks on the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic owing to the growing number of migrants crossing into Germany.
Michael Kretschmer, speaking to the Tagesschau portal, said that the German government must take decisive action to limit illegal migration and pushed for the introduction of border controls.
"The situation is dramatic, we have no other choice," said Kretschmer referring to the introduction of checks, adding that controls "should have been brought in months ago".
His words reflect mounting concerns in Germany that Poland and the Czech Republic are becoming increasingly popular transit countries for people heading west.
Over the weekend, Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister, also called for temporary stationary border controls in order to "fight smuggling more decisively."
At the end of August, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had registered over 204,000 asylum applications, which means an increase of 77 percent compared to the same period last year.
