Germany has extended intensive border controls through May 15, German financial officials say media Monday. That news comes as no surprise. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said earlier that he wanted to extend the corona measure.
A spokesman for the minister talks to the news agency Reuters that the measure is not in accordance with European Commission regulations. Europe-wide corona measures require that all essential freight transport must go ahead in any case.
The measures include a random check on foreign commuters to see if they want to cross the border for an urgent reason. At the beginning of April, German politics also discussed the complete closing of borders for non-essential traffic, but this was stopped after protest from the catering industry.
Initially, Germany’s intensive border controls at the border with the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria would be held until 4 May.
There are normally no border controls in the Schengen zone. In addition to Germany, countries such as Belgium also carried out border controls to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The European Union also ordered the closure of the external borders of the Schengen area for unnecessary travel.
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