Should Germany Keep Border Checks After Euro 2024?

The Euro 2024 football championship in Germany has come to an end. Spain won the final match against England. During the tournament, Germany had special border checks to keep everyone safe. Now that the games are over, these checks are supposed to stop. But some people think they should continue.

Why Were There Extra Border Checks?

Germany put extra security measures in place for Euro 2024. This included checking people at all of Germany’s borders. The main reasons were:

1. To stop troublemakers (hooligans) from entering the country

2. To prevent extremists from causing problems

3. To make sure everyone was safe during the big football event

One Politician Wants to Keep the Checks

Christian Dürr, an important politician from the Free Democrats party, thinks the border checks worked well. He said they caught many people trying to enter Germany illegally. Dürr believes it might be a good idea to keep doing these checks, even though the football games are over.

Is It Possible to Continue the Checks?

The German police say it would be very hard to keep checking all borders. They don’t have enough people or equipment to do this all the time. During Euro 2024, many police officers worked extra hours to help with security. They will need to be paid for this overtime work.

What Did the Border Checks Achieve?

The German government shared some information about what the border checks did:

– They caught about 600 people who were wanted by the police

– They stopped around 150 people who were trying to smuggle others into the country

– They prevented about 3,200 people from entering Germany

The Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, said there were fewer security problems during Euro 2024 than they expected.

Could Individual States Do Their Own Checks?

Dürr suggested that instead of the national government, each German state could decide to do its own border checks. This would mean state police, not federal police, would be in charge. However, it’s not likely that states would do this without a very good reason.

Normal Situation: No Regular Border Checks

Usually, Germany doesn’t have regular border checks. This is because it’s part of the Schengen Area, a group of European countries where people can move freely between countries. Checks only happen in special situations, like during Covid-19 or big events like Euro 2024.

Current Border Check Situation

Right now, Germany has some checks on its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. There are also stricter checks on the border with Austria because many migrants use this route to enter Germany.

What Happens Next?

Germany will stop most of its current border checks on July 19. However, there will be checks on the French border before and during the upcoming Olympic Games.

If Germany wants to keep doing border checks, it needs to ask permission from the European Union in Brussels. These checks must be reviewed every six months to see if they’re still needed.