Poland prepares to begin checks at German border from Monday

Polish officials will begin checks on the border with Germany on Monday, focusing on vehicles with tinted windows and those carrying multiple passengers, border guard spokesman Konrad Szwed told the PAP news agency.

The spot checks will concentrate on buses, minibuses and cars with multiple passengers, he said. "Vehicles with tinted windows will also be in focus," Szwed said.

Poland is introducing checks on the German border from midnight on Sunday in response to German moves to block irregular migration directly at the border.

The Polish authorities will also be conducting checks along the Lithuanian border.

Germany has been conducting spot checks on the Polish border since October 2023, but German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced shortly after taking office in May that these checks would be stepped up and that asylum seekers could be turned back at the border.

Szwed said there would be no physical barriers at the 52 crossings from Germany or at the 13 from Lithuania, but signs instructing traffic to slow down would be put up, and traffic lanes would be narrowed.

"In the event of a vehicle check, the documents of the driver and the passengers will be checked, as will the boot," Szwed said. Those crossing the border would be expected to have ID, he added.

Measures would be taken to ensure that people living in the area, including those commuting across the border for work, would not be inconvenienced, Szwed said.

The German government also hopes to minimize traffic disruptions caused by border checks.

"The federal police will ensure the smooth flow of cross-border travel and goods to the greatest extent possible," a spokesman from the Interior Ministry told dpa.

He said the ministry was working with all relevant authorities to examine structural adjustments to the motorway that runs between Germany and Poland which could help ease the traffic situation at the border.