German border controls underline refugee issue: EU

Angela Merkel informed EC President about the temporary re-introduction of controls at the borders with other EU member states

The European Commission said Germany's latest decision of temporary border controls underlined the urgency to agree on the measures proposed by the Commission in order to manage the refugee crisis.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Sunday spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during which she informed him about the temporary re-introduction of controls at the borders with other EU member states, particularly at the German-Austrian border, Xinhua news agency quoted an EU statement as saying.

"The temporary re-introduction 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," said the statement.

It said "the current situation in Germany, prima facie, appears to be a situation covered by the rules."
 

 

EU will closely monitor the situation and keep the European parliament and the council fully informed, as foreseen in the Schengen Borders Code.

"The objectives of our efforts must be to help ensure that we can go back to the normal Schengen system of open borders between Schengen member states as soon as feasible," it said.

The statement said the free movement of people under Schengen is a unique symbol of European integration.

However, the other side of the coin is a better joint management of our external borders and more solidarity in coping with the refugee crisis.

EU interior ministers on Monday will gather in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting to discuss refugee-related issues.

Germany on Sunday reinstated controls at its southern border with Germany and Austria. Germany's Bavarian state government has asked for mobilisation of federal police to accomplish the task.

In another development, the German government also stopped the train to and from Austria.