Aachen/Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) Temporary border controls with Belgium and the Netherlands have begun in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Federal Police checked people arriving from Belgium on the North Rhine-Westphalia side of the Autobahn 44 near Aachen on Monday morning, a German news agency reported. According to previous information from a North Rhine-Westphalia Federal Police spokesman, no fixed checkpoints are planned for border control, but rather a mobile concept is to be used.
“We will carry out random, selective and temporary checks at various points in the traffic flow,” the spokesperson told German media on Friday. There will be no total control and not everyone crossing the border will be tested. “Everyone should be prepared for the fact that they will be checked when crossing the border without a reason,” the spokesperson said.
Border control for six months at first
Additional checks are also carried out using patrol cars, police motorcycles and private vehicles. Commuters and travellers should be affected as little as possible. According to the internal regulations of the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of the Interior, the North Rhine-Westphalia police are to support the federal police in controlling the state borders.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Pärger (SPD) recently ordered that border controls be implemented at all German borders from Monday in order to curb the number of unauthorized arrivals. The additional controls will initially last for six months. They affect France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. These controls already exist on the borders of Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. In fact, they are not available in the Schengen area.
