Poland said Wednesday it will extend temporary checks at its borders with Lithuania and Germany for another six months, until April 4, citing concerns over irregular migration.
The controls were introduced in July in an effort to curb secondary migration after foreigners entered the European Union from Belarus, according to the Polish government.
Warsaw has accused Berlin of pushing migrants back toward Poland after Germany reinstated checks on its border with Poland in 2023. Germany has denied the claim.
“We are extending control on the borders with Germany and Lithuania to monitor the migration route that starts in the Baltic states, runs through Poland and leads to Western Europe,” Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said in a statement. “We are detaining people who are trying to smuggle migrants illegally to the West.”
Kierwiński also pointed to “constant migration pressure” at the border with Belarus, which Poland accuses of weaponising migration to destabilise the region.
At the Polish-Lithuanian border, authorities detained about 60 smugglers between January and August, the statement said.
Under Schengen rules, EU countries may temporarily reintroduce border checks if they believe public order or internal security is threatened.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
