Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has refused Germany’s idea of conducting joint border checks. Poland will start guarding its western frontier on Monday, 7 July as Polish controversial paramilitary groups keep operating near the boundary line.
The 467-kilometre border separating Germany and Poland is drawing increased attention after Polish PM Donald Tusk has announced earlier this week that Warsaw would introduce border checks on its side of the border commencing Monday, 7 July. The Germans have already conducted regular checks for quite some time.
In an apparent attempt to tone down tensions, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) had proposed joint border controls by Warsaw and Berlin. The Polish response, however, was a strict “No”.
“On the German side, there are German patrols. On the Polish side, there will be Polish patrols (…) The minister from Germany will not tell us what to do in Poland. With sympathy, with respect, but we will protect Polish borders ourselves,” replied Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (PSL).
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“You can join the Border Guard”
It remains uncler what the situation on the Polish-German border will look like starting this coming Monday. Until now, the Germans have largely confined their border checks to a few major highway crossings between the two countries, while the so-called green border has remained largely unguarded.
If anyone wants to protect our border, we invite them to join the Polish Border Guard – Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz
The situation is becoming ever more complex due to the presence of far-right paramilitary “citizen patrols” on the Polish side. The so-called Border Defence Movement only sprang into existence in recent days. The organisation claims ot focus the patrols on illegal migrants. Over the past days, media reports have mentioned several cases of these patrols halting cars and forcing travellers to produce IDs–a practice illegal under Polish law.
Meanwhile, minister Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the Polish borders are protected by Poland state services, and there is no need for the involvement of any paramilitary formations. He added that impersonating officers is a punishable violation of the law. “If anyone wants to protect our border, we invite them to join the Polish Border Guard,” Mr Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
