Poland has announced the reintroduction of border checks along its frontier with Germany, marking one of the most serious threats to the Schengen free movement area in recent years.
The decision, which Warsaw claims is necessary to curb illegal migration and enforce national sovereignty, has prompted sharp rebukes from Berlin and raised fears of a domino effect across the bloc.
The Polish Ministry of the Interior confirmed on Saturday that checks would be reinstated “temporarily but with immediate effect” at major crossings and along key transport corridors. Officials cited a “dramatic rise” in the number of asylum seekers entering Polish territory via Germany, and accused Berlin of turning a blind eye to irregular migrant flows.
“This is not a political provocation,” said Polish Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker during a press briefing in Warsaw. “It is a necessary and proportionate response to a growing crisis. We will not allow Polish security to be undermined by failures elsewhere.”
The announcement follows weeks of tense exchanges between the two neighbours over asylum policies, with Warsaw accusing the German government of failing to control its eastern border and Berlin warning of “unilateralism” and “a breakdown in trust.”
A serious blow to Schengen
The reintroduction of border controls represents a direct challenge to the core principles of the Schengen Agreement, the EU’s flagship policy enabling passport-free travel across much of the continent. Although temporary checks are permitted in cases of urgent national security, the scale and nature of Poland’s action appear to defy the spirit—if not yet the letter—of EU law.
“This is a turning point,” said Dr. Klaus Hirsch, a political analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “We have seen border checks before—Austria, Denmark, even France during terrorist alerts—but never with such open political hostility between EU partners.”
The European Commission responded cautiously but said it would request clarification from Warsaw “on the legal basis and necessity of the measure.” A Commission spokesperson said Brussels “remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of the Schengen area,” but stopped short of announcing any formal infringement proceedings.
Meanwhile, the German government expressed dismay. Speaking from Berlin, former Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she regretted Poland’s decision and warned of economic and diplomatic fallout.
“Unilateral action is never the solution,” Faeser said. “The challenges of migration and border security must be addressed jointly, not by undermining the very framework that holds Europe together.”
Migration tensions on the rise
At the heart of the dispute is a surge in irregular migration through the so-called Balkan route, with many migrants and asylum seekers reaching Germany via Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. According to figures from the German Federal Police, over 20,000 unauthorised border crossings from Poland into Germany were recorded in the first half of 2025—a sharp increase from the same period last year.
Polish authorities contend that many of these migrants are being encouraged to transit through their country by lax German asylum enforcement and an “overgenerous” welfare system.
“We are being used as a corridor,” said Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), during a rally in Wrocław. “Germany failed to stop the crisis in 2015. We will not allow them to repeat the same mistake with us as collateral.”
Kaczyński’s remarks are widely seen as part of a broader political strategy ahead of upcoming regional elections in Poland, where the issue of migration remains highly sensitive and electorally potent.
Germany, on the other hand, accuses Poland of scapegoating and neglecting its duties under EU asylum law.
“There are procedures and responsibilities under the Dublin Regulation,” said SPD Bundestag member Lars Castellucci. “You cannot simply close the border when it suits your politics.”
A wider European worry
The Poland-Germany border row comes at a time when confidence in the EU’s migration framework is already brittle. Italy has clashed repeatedly with Brussels over Mediterranean arrivals. Hungary continues to defy asylum rulings. Even Sweden has hinted at tightening its controls.
The broader fear in Brussels is that Poland’s move could embolden other states to do the same, effectively turning Schengen into a patchwork of conditional and unreliable arrangements. With travel and trade flows already strained by geopolitical instability and economic pressures, the reimposition of border checks in Central Europe could have far-reaching consequences.
For now, trucks and commuters at the Polish-German frontier are once again being stopped, questioned, and sometimes searched—a sight that, to many Europeans, was thought consigned to history.
Whether this is a temporary flare-up or the beginning of a permanent unravelling remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Europe’s once-borderless heart is showing dangerous signs of fracture.
