Germany intends to extend controls on its borders for an additional six months

Control operations on Germany's external borders are scheduled to be extended for an additional six months, until mid-March. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt officially informed the European Commission of this step, according to a ministry spokeswoman.

In statements to the German newspaper "Bild", Dobrindt said: "Developments at European external borders show that reducing irregular migration still requires imposing control operations."

The politician belonging to the Christian Social Party had already announced this step at the end of last July, when tens of thousands of migrants briefly crossed the border from Morocco to Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city in North Africa. Almost all of them later returned.

Although the borders within the European Union were originally supposed to be open, Germany has resumed monitoring operations at all of its external borders since September 16, 2024.

Former German Interior Minister Nancy Weiser had ordered this with the aim of reducing the number of unauthorized entry into the country.

Despite mounting criticism, this measure has already been extended three times, and was last extended until mid-September 2026. If the European Commission does not object, the monitoring will be extended for another six months until mid-March 2027.