Germany upsets neighbors with border lockdown

The German government has announced it would extend “temporary” checks on crossings along its entire land border on Monday, in order to try and stop migrants from entering the country illegally and making unfounded asylum claims. Individuals without adequate documentation attempting to cross would be turned back, the government said. Under the terms of the Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers must make a claim for refuge in the first EU country they enter.

Germany’s neighbors have reacted angrily to sweeping new border controls due to come into force next week, in a diplomatic backlash Berlin is struggling to square with a rancorous domestic debate over illegal immigration.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk cancelled a planned trip to Germany on Friday and called for “urgent consultations” with other European countries to try and force Berlin to retract the new restrictions.

Austrian interior minister Gerhard Karner told German newspapers there was “no room for manoeuvre” and that Austria would not co-operate with Berlin’s planned clampdown.