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[global times special correspondent in germany aoki, global times special correspondent ren zhong] starting from monday this week, germany implemented control measures at all land borders and resumed passport checks to restrict the entry of illegal immigrants. according to cnn, germany's move has angered other eu member states. polish prime minister tusk believes that this may lead to a "de facto large-scale suspension" of the schengen agreement. however, czech interior minister rakushan expects that since most of the control measures are spot checks, germany's move may not bring much substantive change. foreign media called berlin's approach a "major turning point" in its stance on immigration issues and worried that it could trigger a "dangerous domino effect." the schengen area, which allows the free flow of people and goods, has been called one of the eu's "greatest achievements" by some, but now eight of the 29 member states of the schengen agreement have implemented border checks. "where is the end?" a researcher from a european think tank asked.

on the 16th local time, german police intercepted vehicles on the highway near the border between germany and luxembourg and implemented control measures. (visual china)

polish prime minister: unacceptable

according to an order issued earlier by german minister of the interior and land feser, german police began to implement border inspection measures at the border crossings between the country and luxembourg, belgium, the netherlands and denmark this week. the temporary control measures are for 6 months and may be extended after expiration. agence france-presse said that this means that germany's control measures now involve the borders with all 9 neighboring countries. previously, it had implemented this measure at the border crossings with poland, the czech republic, austria, switzerland and france.

german officials said border checks are aimed at limiting irregular immigration and responding to threats from terrorist organizations and cross-border criminal organizations. since controls were implemented on germany's eastern border in october last year, about 30,000 illegal immigrants have been denied entry. however, according to deutsche welle, the german police union estimates that given the country's nearly 3,900-kilometer land border, the new measures will not allow for "seamless inspections" and will only be random checks.

cnn said that germany's expansion of border controls has angered its eu neighbors, marking a major shift in the country's position on immigration in recent years. between 2015 and 2016, merkel's german government accepted more than 1 million refugees. now, berlin is "following" other eu countries to strengthen immigration controls.

according to reports from france international radio and the guardian on the 16th, polish prime minister tusk publicly criticized germany's actions as "unacceptable" and said that he would hold "urgent consultations" with germany's other neighbors. polish interior minister siemoniak said that the schengen area, the eu's "great success story, has been damaged by such a decision." greek prime minister mitsotakis believes that the way to deal with immigration issues "cannot be to unilaterally cancel the schengen agreement." agence france-presse quoted him as saying that germany's strengthening of border control "is essentially shifting the responsibility to countries located closer to the outer borders of europe."

hungary and italy, which hold a tougher stance on immigration, reacted differently. hungarian prime minister viktor orban called out to scholz on social media: "welcome to the club." the guardian said that the italian brothers party, led by italian prime minister meroni, welcomed germany's decision.

agence france-presse mentioned that many eu countries are currently dealing with immigration issues, including the polish government, which criticized germany this time. in addition, dutch prime minister schof recently announced the country's most stringent immigration policy to date.

“unfortunate timing”?

"border checks are testing the unity of the european union," the associated press said on the 17th. some people believe that the control measures deviate from the spirit of the schengen agreement. the agreement currently has 29 signatories, including 25 eu member states, as well as iceland, liechtenstein, norway and switzerland.

according to deutsche welle, under the regulations, member states can implement border checks in "extraordinary circumstances", but only "temporarily" as a "last resort". however, exceptions have become common in order to limit illegal immigration, prevent terrorism, and respond to threats posed by the conflict between russia and ukraine. the european commission can issue warnings to member states, but it has no veto power. currently, eight schengen member states implement border checks, including austria, italy, france, denmark, sweden, etc.

euronews quoted nieder frank, an expert at the german council on foreign relations, as saying that studies have shown that border control measures usually "only catch small fish" and that these checks will bring many adverse effects, especially for the transportation industry and commuters traveling to and from the border. "being stuck at border checkpoints every day is annoying." according to spain's el país, according to eu data, about 1.7 million people cross the eu's internal borders every day to work in other countries.

jandula, chairman of the german wholesale and foreign trade association, recently told the german handelsblatt that the government's decision will "disrupt logistics and cause chaos in the supply chain." reuters quoted economists on the 17th as saying that for companies struggling with the economic downturn, germany's current border control measures are not large in scale and will not have a significant impact on business except for creating more delays and complexity. however, capital economics chief european economist kenningham said that if this proves to be the beginning of the eu's reintroduction of substantive measures to restrict free movement, it will have "very significant significance" and will not only affect transportation, but also be a major stimulus for eu politics. rubia, chief economist of hamburg commercial bank, said that for the german economy, which is lingering on the brink of recession, this measure came at an "unfortunate time."

“this is a very important political signal”

many foreign media mentioned that the german government's implementation of border control measures is mainly based on political considerations. last month, a knife attack occurred in the city of solingen, killing three people. the suspect was an immigrant from syria. agence france-presse said that the german authorities had wanted to deport the suspect, who was allegedly linked to extremist organizations, but he escaped. this "failure of law enforcement" has sparked a heated debate, against which the anti-immigrant far-right alternative for germany party achieved "unprecedented" results in elections in two eastern german states. with the national election approaching next year, german chancellor scholz faces enormous political pressure to deal with immigration and asylum seekers. immigration expert niederfrank told euronews that the german government wants to show that they are taking action, "which is a very important political signal."

niederfrank said that germany had made progressive voices in the discussion on the reform of the eu asylum system, "but now it has taken a slight step backwards", and "the german government's current policy is not clear, which has disappointed many eu partners". the austrian newspaper news commented that the solingen terrorist attack marked a profound turning point for germany. if germany only cares about itself, the price will be high - everyone can do whatever they want, "and then the extreme right will rule the whole of europe".

el país said on the 16th that one of the pillars of the eu architecture - the free movement of people and goods in the schengen area - is now in jeopardy, and it is marked with "scar-like" dividing lines. experts worry that one of the eu's greatest achievements may collapse. alemanno, professor of european law and policy at the paris business school, said that the measures announced by germany are unprecedented "in scale and nature." carrera, a researcher at the belgian think tank european policy research center, told the u.s. magazine foreign policy that border control measures could trigger a "race to the bottom." "where is the end? we are talking about rights that touch the core of the european union."