The German Interior Minister responded to Poland’s announcement by suggesting the two countries could collaborate on joint border control, but this was swiftly rejected by Warsaw.
Waldemar Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Defence Minister, told broadcaster TVN24: “The minister from Germany will not tell us what to do in Poland. With sympathy, with respect, but we will protect Polish borders ourselves.”
Poland and Germany are among a growing number of countries in Europe which are bringing back border controls to quell a public backlash over undocumented migration, which has strained the EU’s Schengen passport-free travel zone.
Tusk’s liberal government has been accused by nationalist and far-Right opposition parties of accepting numerous illegal migrants being sent back from Germany. The Government had argued that the numbers were limited.
Germany first started border controls with Poland in October 2023, but when Friedrich Merz became Chancellor earlier this year, he made reducing immigration a top priority.
As well as ending the family reunification policy for refugees, Germany has started the so-called pushbacks.
The move has apparently proved effective, with the number of refugees arriving in Germany falling by 60% in a year, the lowest since the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Tusk, who has previously called on Berlin to do more to help its neighbours protect the EU’s external border, criticised Germany’s approach to migrants at its own frontier, saying it placed excessive pressure on Poland.
“Poland’s patient position after Germany formally introduced unilateral border controls is wearing out,” he said.
That impatience has been reflected in border towns where protesters aligned with hard-right groups have formed “citizen patrols” to forcibly stop refugees from being returned from Germany.
In one case, protesters from the “Movement for the Protection of the Borders” group forced an Afghan male, 18, back across the border to Germany twice after he was ejected by German border police, with Polish border police refusing to intervene.
The young man was taken to another border crossing where no vigilantes were present and was able to cross.
The protesters were condemned by Tusk, who told them their actions were illegal and they should go home.
“The more the Polish state regains control at the borders, the more strongly it is attacked by [right-wing opposition parties] Law and Justice, the Confederation and their militias,” said the Polish Prime Minister.
“They are trying to paralyse our border guard. We will not allow this.”
Tusk’s Government was thrown into turmoil after its candidate for president was narrowly defeated by Karol Nawrocki, the Law and Justice Party-backed candidate, in May.
Nawrocki has thanked one of the leaders of the border patrols for what he called a “citizen-led control of the borders”, blaming Tusk for conflict between the groups and border guards.
