Germany Re-instates Border Controls to curb the overwhelming influx of migrants Sunday Sep 13,2015

 

On Sunday Sep 13,2015 Germany halted all trains from Austria and, in an historic move, temporarily suspended the open borders Schengen agreement in response to the arrival of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in recent days. 

On Saturday, 13,015 refugees arrived at the station on trains from Austria. Another 1,400 came on Sunday morning

The decision marks a dramatic shift away from the current abolishment of passport checks throughout Europe's Schengen zone. 

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said: 'At this moment Germany is temporarily introducing border controls again along [the EU's] internal borders. The focus will be on the border to Austria at first.

'The aim of these measures is to limit the current inflows to Germany and to return to orderly procedures when people enter the country.

The Interior Minister did not specify how long the border controls would remain in place or give details of exactly how incoming migrants would be handled. He said there could be disruption to rail travel. 

 Germany's national railway, Deutsche Bahn, said it had halted service between Austria and Germany for 12 hours at authorities' orders

The Schengen agreement – allowing passport-free movement across much of the European continent – is now under real threat following Germany’s temporary opt-out, although the European Commission said rules do allow countries to reintroduce controls in exceptional circumstances. 

In a statement the EU executive said: 'The temporary reintroduction of border controls between member states is an exceptional possibility explicitly foreseen in and regulated by the Schengen Borders Code, in case of a crisis situation.

'The current situation in Germany, prima facie, appears to be a situation covered by the rules.'

It added that the executive would keep the situation under review and said the aim would be to return to the normal situation of no border checks between member states of the Schengen zone 'as soon as feasible'.

The European Commission added: 'The German decision of today underlines the urgency to agree on the measures proposed by the European Commission in order to manage the refugee crisis.'

Refugees are pictured at the main rail station in Munich. Some 13,015 refugees arrived in Munich yesterday alone and 1,400 more are expected to reach the city today

 

Note

The International Organization for Migration said on Friday that more than 430,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, with 2,748 dying en route or going missing. 

Hungarian police say more than 186,000 people have passed through Hungary from Serbia this year en route toAustria and the migrants' major destination, Germany, which says it has taken in more than 50,000 newcomers in the past week alone.

About 450,000 migrants have arrived in Germany this year. The country is expecting at least 800,000 in 2015 — by far the most in the 28-nation EU