Further measures planned to limit irregular migration and fight migrant smuggling gangs effectively
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser agreed with her Czech and Polish counterparts to set up a joint task force to fight the smuggling of migrants more effectively. The task force will operate under the aegis of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), an instrument of the European Union.

The three ministers also agreed to intensify joint patrols by Germany’s Federal Police with their Polish and Czech counterparts, including on Polish and Czech territory, to take effective action against migrant smugglers and to detect and prevent illegal entries. Czech Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan agreed to the measures last weekend. Poland and Germany have already been conducting joint patrols; Federal Minister Faeser and Poland’s Minister of the Interior Mariusz Kamiński agreed on Thursday to increase these patrols on the Polish side of the border.

Federal Minister Faeser said, “I am very grateful for this close cooperation with our neighbours Poland and the Czech Republic. Together, we want to stop the cruel business of migrant smugglers, who exploit desperate people and send them on life-threatening journeys across borders to maximise their own profits. At the same time, we must detect people who are trying to enter Germany illegally and stop them before they cross our borders. That is why we agreed today to intensify patrols by Federal Police officers with their Czech and Polish counterparts, including on Czech and Polish territory. We will also create a joint task force to turn up the law enforcement pressure on migrant smuggling gangs.

“In combination with the random checks in the border area and targeted checks along the smugglers’ routes which the Federal Police are currently carrying out, we have now put together a whole package of additional, closely coordinated measures. Our flexible and mobile checks in varying locations keep smugglers from using alternative routes. At the same time, we are making sure that these checks have as little impact as possible on private individuals, commuters and trade.”

Migrant smuggling across Germany’s borders from Poland and the Czech Republic is on the rise. That is why the new measures are needed in addition to the checks which the Federal Police have already intensified. This week, the Federal Police began conducting flexible and targeted checks along the routes used by migrant smugglers. These checks come in addition to the random checks in the entire border area which the Federal Police have already increased. The aim is to identify and prevent migrant smuggling at an earlier stage in the process. Germany wants to protect the lives and well-being of the people being smuggled, who are often women and children.