1,000 turned back at Germany's western borders since return of checks

In the first month following the start of reintroduced checks at Germany's western borders, around 1,000 people have been turned back, according to official figures, reported dpa.

Additionally, from September 16 to October 20, approximately 1,700 unauthorized entries were detected and about 30 smugglers uncovered, the German Interior Ministry reported on Friday upon request, confirming an earlier report in the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Germany is part of Europe's Schengen area of visa-free travel where border checks are generally not carried out. The formerly frictionless travel area has been placed under strain by the scale of irregular migration into Europe in recent years.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser justified the order for the reintroduction of checks at all German land borders from mid-September by citing irregular migration, protection from Islamist terrorists and cross-border crime.

The change affects France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Such checks have already been in place since mid-October last year at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, and were introduced at the German-Austrian land border in the autumn of 2015.

Focus on the south and east

At the four borders in the south and east of Germany, significantly more people are intercepted on average by border officials, according to the Interior Ministry.

From mid-October 2023 to October 20, 2024, there were around 33,000 turnbacks and approximately 57,000 unauthorized entries at these borders. Additionally, around 1,400 smugglers were reportedly caught.

The Federal Police plans to publish a summary of the total figures and the effectiveness of the border checks on November 1.