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Austrian Rail Operator Resumes Train Service to Germany Austria and Slovakia Follow Germany in Introducing Stricter Border Controls
(about 2 hours later)
BERLIN — The police in Germany were carrying out checks on trucks and cars entering the country from Austria on Monday, as train service between the two countries was restored, a day after the authorities in Berlin decided to tighten the borders to slow the influx of thousands of asylum seekers. BERLIN — Austria and Slovakia introduced strict border controls on Monday, as Germany’s decision to institute border checks over the weekend began to ripple across a bloc struggling to deal with the influx of migrants coming to the Continent.
As part of the measures, international service to Germany from Austria had been briefly halted, stranding hundreds of people in the Alpine city of Salzburg, just south of Munich, and many more in Vienna. In Hungary, the authorities said that a near-record 5,353 migrants had crossed into the country from Serbia before noon on Monday — even as Hungary continued to try to seal off that border, which has been reinforced with the construction of a razor-wire fence.
The Austrian rail operator ÖBB said on Monday that regular service on all lines, with the exception of the Salzburg-to-Munich route, were running again as of early Monday. While Berlin said the border controls were only a temporary, emergency measure, the restrictions were a signal that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance toward the migrants was encountering domestic resistance.
The restrictions to the European Union’s border-free Schengen zone by Germany, one of the most ardent proponents of greater European integration in the 28-member bloc, amounted to an abrupt about-face on the part of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. Last week, she had insisted that there was “no upper limit” on the number of refugees her country could take in. Deputy Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told members of his center-left Social Democrats, which governs with Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, that Germany could face the arrival of even more migrants this year than the government had projected. “There are many indications that in this year we will not see 800,000 refugees, as predicted, but a million,” he said in a letter to his party.
The Schengen Agreement, which guarantees passport-free freedom of movement within much of continental Europe, has served as a cornerstone of European unity, along with the euro and a single market. Countries in the Schengen Zone are allowed, however, to temporarily reinstate controls at their borders for security reasons.
The measures in Germany left thousands of people stranded in Greece, Hungary and Austria. Vienna announced on Monday that it was sending the army to help reinforce its eastern border. Thousands of people there were scrambling to travel west before laws that would seal off the border take effect.
Chancellor Werner Faymann of Austria said the move by Germany had sent a “clear signal” that the country was straining under the influx of migrants, but he added that no asylum seekers had been turned back to Austria at the German border.
The new measures led to severe backups in traffic on highways leading to Germany from Austria overnight and Monday morning, as the police rigorously carried out checks. Officers eased up as the day wore on, however, and only carried out spot checks on vehicles entering Germany.
Sigmar Gabriel, Ms. Merkel’s deputy and the minister for economy, said in a letter to members of his center-left Social Democrats that Germany could face the arrival of an even greater number of migrants this year than previously expected.
“There are many indications that in this year we will not see 800,000 refugees, as predicted, but a million,” Mr. Gabriel wrote.
“Germany is strong and can handle a lot,” Mr. Gabriel wrote. “Nevertheless, in the past few days we have experienced how, despite our best efforts, our abilities have reached their limits.”“Germany is strong and can handle a lot,” Mr. Gabriel wrote. “Nevertheless, in the past few days we have experienced how, despite our best efforts, our abilities have reached their limits.”
Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria, a deeply conservative state, had criticized the chancellor for her open-door policy toward migrants, under which his state, which borders Austria, had been straining. More than 25,000 migrants arrived in Bavaria over the weekend. Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria, a deeply conservative state in the south, has criticized Ms. Merkel for her open-door policy. More than 25,000 migrants arrived in Bavaria over the weekend.
“There is no order, there is no system, and in a country governed by the rule of law, that is a cause for concern,” Mr. Seehofer told reporters on Sunday. He had pushed for the border checks to be reinstated in an effort to stem the flow long enough to establish an improved system of housing and handling the thousands of newcomers. “There is no order, there is no system, and in a country governed by the rule of law, that is a cause for concern,” Mr. Seehofer told reporters on Sunday. He said that officials were straining to process and house thousands of newcomers, and that some of them were economic migrants, not people fleeing from persecution.
“We need better controls in general, because we have determined that in recent days, many of those on the move are really not refugees,” Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria, told a local public television, Bayrischer Rundfunk. “We need better controls in general, because we have determined that in recent days, many of those on the move are really not refugees,” Joachim Herrmann, the Bavarian interior minister, told a local television station. Officials in Eastern and Central Europe, including Hungary, have made similar arguments.
That view appeared to give some credence to more recalcitrant countries, including Hungary, which have been arguing that robust border controls are needed amid concerns that many migrants coming to Europe are economic migrants, rather than refugees fleeing conflict or strife. It was not immediately clear how long the German measures would remain in effect, but Mr. Herrmann estimated that they would last “at least a week.”
It was not immediately clear how long the other measures would remain in effect. When Thomas de Maizière, the German interior minister, said late Sunday that border controls would begin again, he described them as “temporary.” The restrictions to the European Union’s border-free Schengen zone by Germany, one of the most ardent proponents of greater integration, had marked a departure by Ms. Merkel, who insisted just last week that there was “no upper limit” on the number of refugees her country could take in.
Mr. Herrmann said the controls, which focused primarily on Germany’s border with Austria, would remain in place for “at least a week.” Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for Ms. Merkel, said the new measures were “not a closing of the border, or a suspension of the right to asylum,” but were an attempt to instill greater order on the chaos of the arrival and application process.
Thomas Schweikl, a spokesman for the federal police in the Bavarian town of Freyung, said that 31 people smugglers had been arrested since controls began late Sunday. “It also serves as a clear signal to our European partners that Germany, while prepared to take on a large share of responsibilities, cannot be solely responsible for taking in all refugees,” he said.
Several hundred officers, wearing reflective vests and flagging down trucks and cars as they entered Germany, were carrying out the checks near the border. Officers from across the country arrived overnight to help the local police, Mr. Schweikl said. Nonetheless, Germany’s decision evidently gave cover to its neighbor, Austria, to take its own measures.
“If Germany carries out border controls, Austria must put strengthened border controls in place,” said Chancellor Werner Faymann of Austria, who is scheduled to meet with Ms. Merkel on Tuesday.
Mr. Faymann said that no asylum seekers had been turned back to Austria from the German border. Vienna also announced on Monday that it was sending 2,200 soldiers to help reinforce its eastern border.
In Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, officials announced temporary controls on its borders with Hungary and Austria, and the addition of 220 officers to police the borders.
The Schengen Agreement, which guarantees passport-free movement within much of continental Europe, has served as a cornerstone of European unity, along with the euro and a single market. Countries in the Schengen Zone are allowed, however, to temporarily reinstate controls at their borders for security reasons.
Such controls have been set up seven times since 2013, when the rules were clarified, and 37 times since the Schengen rules were developed — but it is the first time such controls have been imposed because of migratory pressures.
In Germany, police on Monday carried out checks on trucks and cars entering the country from Austria, although train service between the two countries was restored.
Thousands of migrants striving to reach Germany remain stranded in Greece, Hungary and Austria, trying to move westward as the news of the latest border controls filtered among them.
There were severe backups in traffic on main highways leading to Germany from Austria overnight Sunday, and into Monday morning, as the police rigorously carried out checks. Officers eased up as the day wore on, however, and only carried out spot checks on vehicles entering Germany.
Thomas Schweikl, a spokesman for the federal police in the Bavarian town of Freyung, said that 31 people had been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling since controls began late Sunday.
Several hundred officers, wearing reflective vests and flagging down trucks and cars as they entered Germany, were carrying out the checks near the border. Officers from across the country arrived overnight to help the Bavarian police, Mr. Schweikl said.
“There is no way we could manage it on our own,” he said.“There is no way we could manage it on our own,” he said.