Piding, Germany - Recent

Germany is boosting checks on its land borders to tighten migration controls, following a deadly knife attack by a Syrian asylum seeker last month.

According to an order issued earlier by German Minister of the Interior and Land Nancy Faeser, German police will implement border inspection measures at the border ports with Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark beginning on Monday. This temporary control measure will last six months and may be extended after its expiration.

Every day, 25,000 vehicles pass through Piding, the German-Austrian border crossing where controls have been in place for almost 10 years. On Monday, the adoption of these measures will be extended to all of Germany's land border points.

People hold different views on the new control measures. Some fear traffic jams and delays, while others say it is a right action against illegal immigration.

Whether German police will start refusing to accept asylum seekers at its borders is still unclear. Negotiations between the government and opposition parties have been turbulent.

But Germany's neighbor, Austria, is concerned over the effects of the new border arrangements, and insists its policies will remain the same.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said that they will not take in anyone who has been refused illegal entry to Germany.

In the first half of this year, illegal migrant crossings into Germany actually fell by 7 percent, compared with the same period of last year.

Shotlist:
Piding, Germany - Recent:
1. Traffic at border crossing;
2. Various of police doing inspection;
3. SOUNDBITE (English) vehicle driver (name not given):
"I think this is a weakness for the European community, because we open all the borders, (so) closing it is a step-back.";
4. Various of traffic;
5. Policeman holding gun;
6. SOUNDBITE (English) vehicle driver (name not given):
"I find it's quite good for Germany, so lots of illegal [immigrants] are out there. And I think it's good that we do something against that.";
7. Sign indicating border, vehicles;
8. Traffic;
9. Various of police officers inspecting vehicles.

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