Skip next section Poland restores spot checks at German border in tit-for-tat move
07/07/2025July 7, 2025
Poland restores spot checks at German border in tit-for-tat move
Authorities in Poland on Monday began carrying out random checks at 52 border crossings at the country’s border with Germany in a move contrary to the spirit of the visa-free .
The move comes in response to stricter German controls at the shared border, which have been after .
The Polish border checks, , are set to run initially until August 5.
Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Sunday the controls were meant only to combat “illegal immigration” and that Polish and other EU nationals would not face hindrances.
The controls will reportedly focus on buses, minibuses, cars carrying large numbers of passengers and vehicles with tinted windows.
Before Poland’s announcement, the German government said it would begin turning back asylum-seekers at the Polish border, leading to claims by Polish nationalist and far-right politicians that Berlin is overwhelming Poland with migrants.
Since May 8, German officials have refused entry to around 1,300 people on the border to Poland, according to the Interior Ministry, with one in 10 cases involving an asylum request.
EU rules on the Schengen area stipulated that countries are allowed to introduce temporary measures as a “last resort” and “in exceptional situations.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4x3Rr
Skip next section Wildfire situation stabilizes in Germany’s east
07/07/2025July 7, 2025
Wildfire situation stabilizes in Germany’s east
Several wildfires in forested areas in Germany’s eastern states are reportedly under control after firefighters spent a tense weekend battling the blazes.
The state of was particularly badly affected, with a fire in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district described as the state’s biggest wildfire in more than three decades.
“Our forces are exhausted,” said district administrator Marko Wolfram on Sunday, adding that he hoped emergency staff could be reduced from 500 on Sunday to 300 on Monday as the situation eased.
Hundreds of firefighters were also deployed between the states of and , where raging fires in the Gohrischheide region have burnt out large swathes of natural landscape.
The wildfires broke out as Germany, along with much of western Europe, was hit by the first major .
https://p.dw.com/p/4x3Ss
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage07/07/2025July 7, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
A big Guten Morgen from the newsroom in Bonn as we start a new week.
Firefighters in the east of Germany, who have been battling major blazes all weekend, are feeling more optimistic as the weather cools following last week’s heat wave.
And DW is hosting in Bonn, an event bringing together journalists from across the world at a time when press freedom is under growing pressure even in countries once known as bastions of media liberty.
We will be keeping you up to date on these and other developments in our blog, as well as presenting in-depth analyses and explainers on topics related to Germany from our colleagues across DW’s departments.
https://p.dw.com/p/4x3X6
The post Germany updates: Wildfires wreak havoc in eastern states appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
