WARSAW, July 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poland will lift new checks introduced on its German border when Germany ends its tougher controls, Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told the media..
“If Germany lifts its controls, we are not going to delay either,” Siemoniak said of the checks, introduced as part of a mounting backlash against migrants in both countries.
Poland introduced new checks on its frontiers with Germany and Lithuania on Monday amid a mounting backlash against undocumented migrants in many European countries. Hundreds of mainly Middle East origin migrants go through Belarus into the Baltic states and then cross Poland to reach European Union nations.
“If Germany lifts its controls, we are not going to delay either,” Siemoniak said of the checks.
Poland was “enthusiastic” about free movement within the EU but wanted external boundaries to be strengthened not its internal frontiers. Germany introduced tougher frontier checks with Poland in 2023.
“We want this movement to be absolutely free, that the problems of illegal migrant and migration be resolved together, without either side suffering,” Siemoniak said.
The minister called for greater efforts by Lithuania and Latvia to secure their external borders. He said the Polish border with Belarus, a key ally of Russia, was now “watertight”.
Siemoniak said border controls with Lithuania would remain “as long as the reasons for their establishment do not end”. — NNN-AGENCIES
