Andreas Roßkopf, the head of the Police Union (GdP) for the federal police, stated that despite the intensified border checks, he does not anticipate major traffic jams during the vacation season. Reporting to the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition), he noted that in the previous summer, the tightening of checks only minimally disrupted travel traffic. He added that his colleagues would proceed using great discretion.
Roßkopf further specified that the focus of the federal police is on certain types of vehicles and specific license plates, and not on general tourists. However, the GdP leader criticized the continuing lack of updates, arguing that if the Police Union had been involved, “modern, flexible border checks” would have been introduced long ago, but this remains unachieved.
Checks at all state borders were initiated in September 2024 by the then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). The current Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) subsequently ordered their intensification last May. Overall, these checks have been extended three times, most recently until mid-September 2026. Currently, the EU is pressuring Germany to gradually reduce these controls.
The legal scrutiny of the checks is intense. In 2024, the Bavarian Administrative Court ruled that the ad-hoc border controls were unlawful. Following this, the Schengen Border Code was reformed. Yet, the Administrative Court in Koblenz recently ruled that the border controls remain illegal, even under the new code. The federal government has lodged an appeal.
