International News
Poland Resumes Border Checks With Germany In Anti-Migrant Clampdown
Border guards and military police could be seen looking into passing cars and occasionally stopping vehicles for document checks on the bridge connecting the Polish town of Slubice with Frankfurt an der Oder in Germany.
The new checks are a response to growing anti-migrant sentiment on both sides of the border.
Poland says hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, cross into the Baltic states from Belarus every month, then travel through Poland into Germany.
The issue has become a particularly sensitive one in Polish domestic politics and has led to tensions with Germany.
Warsaw has accused Berlin of sending the irregular migrants it manages to intercept back into Poland.
“The checks being implemented aim to combat illegal migration,” Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak was quoted as saying by his ministry on X.
Shortly after the new checks came into force on Monday, Polish border guards detained a man for assisting irregular migration.
The Estonian national is accused of transporting four irregular migrants, believed to be from Afghanistan.
Siemoniak said the detention was “proof that these checks are necessary”.
‘Ping-Pong Game’
Germany, which introduced checks on the border with Poland in 2023, has welcomed the Polish initiative and called for collaboration against a common problem.
Speaking to the daily Rheinische Post, the head of German police union GdP, Andreas Rosskopf, said the two countries needed a “workable procedure”.
He warned against Polish and German border guards engaging in a “ping-pong game” with asylum seekers by sending them back and forth.
Representatives of German business associations have also voiced concern.
“We are receiving worrying feedback from the business community,” Helena Melnikov, chief executive of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told the Handelsblatt newspaper.
“If commuters can no longer get to work reliably and on time at the German-Polish border, there is an increased risk that they will look for work elsewhere on a permanent basis—with consequences for the shortage of skilled workers in border regions,” she said.
Marek Klodnicki, an administrative employee who lives in Slubice but works in Germany, said the reintroduction of border controls was “very sad”.
“We have waited so long for open borders,” he said, adding that the checks would result in “a disruption in social and economic life.”
Business owners, particularly hairdressers and tobacco shops, which get a lot of custom from Germans crossing the border, also voiced concern the checks could disrupt business.
“Ninety percent of our customers are Germans. We may have less traffic, less revenue,” Kinga Dziuba, a 29-year-old cigarette vendor, told AFP.
But Dziuba said the checks were “very much needed” to control migration, adding, “Security is more important to me than trade.”
The issue of migration was central to June’s presidential election in Poland, where nationalist Karol Nawrocki—who ran on a slogan of “Poland first, Poles “first”—narrowly defeated the candidate backed by pro-European Union Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The Tusk government is now seeking to outflank its rivals by taking a tougher approach to immigration.
Checks ‘Unnecessary’
In total, 52 checkpoints have been set up on the border with Germany and 13 with Lithuania, Siemoniak said.
The controls will last from July 7 to August 5 but could be extended.
They will mostly consist of spot inspections, particularly of vehicles carrying several people, officials said.
Nationalist and far-right politicians accuse Tusk’s government of having “abdicated” to Germany on migration and of allowing Berlin to overwhelm Poland with migrants.
In June, members of a far-right movement gathered at several points along the border to set up “citizens’ patrols,” which the government insists are illegal.
In Slubice, Edyta Taryma, a 54-year-old hair salon owner, said her revenues had already dropped by 20 percent after Germany re-imposed border controls.
“A great many people did not come, or came less often, because they were afraid of traffic jams,” she said.
She called the checks “unnecessary.”
The FIFA World Cup group stage has concluded, with the Netherlands securing first place in Group F and Japan finishing second. According to the knockout stage bracket, the top two teams from Group F will face the top two teams from Group E.
Two more Round of 32 matchups have been confirmed: Brazil vs. Japan and Netherlands vs. Morocco. The first Round of 16 matchup was announced yesterday, featuring South Africa vs. Canada.
Julian Nagelsmann defended question marks surrounding Germany’s commitment during their defeat by Ecuador, telling journalists: “Please stop the nonsense!”
Germany, already guaranteed top spot in Group E, were beaten 2-1 in their final group outing, as their opponents came from behind to snatch all three points at New York New Jersey Stadium.
Nagelsmann’s side saw their 11-match winning streak brought to an end, while they have now failed to register a clean sheet in any of their last nine games at the finals, equalling their longest streak along with their opening nine matches across 1934 and 1954.
And since the start of the 1998 World Cup, this was just the second time Germany had lost a game at the tournament in which they opened the scoring (W25 D2) following a 1-2 loss to Japan in 2022.
While not impressed by his players’ performance, he was quick to reject claims it was due to a lack of commitment, with their place in the knockout phase already secured.
“Please stop the nonsense, honestly!” Nagelsmann told reporters. “Didn’t the boys want to go full throttle?
“Of course, we made different changes than we might have done in moments when we urgently needed another goal.
“But we can’t tell any player that he didn’t step on the gas, that’s far too striking for me.
“We have to learn that after a good start and an early lead, we can play with more composure, instead of suddenly switching positions too much. We just need to be more patient and stay a bit more structured in our positions.
“We deliberately made a lot of changes. You could see that we also had a few tired legs. You can’t blame anyone for the fact that everything is a little slower and takes longer. We trust every player in the squad, and have to give the players the chance to show that.”
Coincidentally, it was in New York that Germany crashed out of the 1994 World Cup after surrendering a lead, losing 2-1 in the quarter-finals against Bulgaria at the Giants Stadium.
Joshua Kimmich, who won his 113th cap to move to joint-eighth with Philipp Lahm on his nation’s all-time list, conceded the four-time world champions were worthy losers against Ecuador.
“We started well, but then we gave the ball away too cheaply and kept inviting them on,” he added.
“We made it easy for them and let them grow into the game. In the second half, the defeat was deserved.”
Relegated Burnley and West Ham will meet on the opening weekend of the Championship season on Sunday, 16 August.
The Clarets finished 19th in the top flight last season and will host the Hammers, who went down on the final day.
Fellow relegated side Wolves will play the league’s curtain-raiser against Blackburn at Molineux on Friday, 14 August.
Elsewhere, Southampton, who will start the season on minus four points after the Spygate scandal, travel to Watford on the opening weekend and promoted Cardiff welcome Welsh rivals Wrexham on Monday, 17 August.
League One champions Lincoln start the season at beaten play-off finalists Middlesbrough on Saturday, 15 August and third tier play-off final winners Bolton begin the campaign with a home game against Preston on the same day.
The Championship season starts a week after clubs play their first competitive fixture in the first round of the Carabao Cup and one week before the Premier League gets under way.
Burnley, West Ham and Wolves will all be looking to secure Premier League promotions at the first time of asking.
The Clarets have now been relegated from or promoted to the top flight in each of the past four seasons.
However, now less than two months out from the start of the season they remain without a manager following the departure of Scott Parker in May.
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has remained despite them dropping out of the top flight after 14 seasons.
The Portuguese led Wolves to the Championship title in his one previous season managing at this level in 2017-18.
Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League in 2025-26 and sacked boss Rob Edwards earlier this month to bring in Cesar Peixoto.
They have bolstered their squad with former England defender Kieran Trippier and returning Mexico striker Raul Jimenez.
However, all three will be aware that in both of the past two seasons a team relegated from the top tier has suffered a second successive demotion to League One.
Former Premier League champions Leicester City went the same way as Luton Town had in 2024-25.
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