Controls have been reinstated at the borders with France, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. However, terrorist channels could make the fight against threats more difficult.
Berlin – Suddenly the borders are no longer abstract: Since 1995, free travel has actually been in place between Germany and its neighbours such as France, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. This was celebrated as an achievement of the European idea. But because of the migration debate and a tense security situation after the attack in Solingen, border controls are now in place again. Since Monday (September 16), federal police officers have been standing at the border crossings again, waving cars out of traffic.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants controls to be in place for at least six months. On the one hand, to turn away immigrants with no prospect of staying – but on the other hand, explicitly to deter dangerous individuals and potential terrorists.
Border controls France, Netherlands, Denmark: Only effective if there is concrete suspicion
However, the Solingen attacker had been living in Germany for years and was considered inconspicuous – just like the knife attacker in Mannheim. In the case of the Munich shooter, however, worse things were prevented because the security authorities had information about him in advance. A crucial point – which plays a central role in answering the question of how useful expanded border controls actually are, says Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Schindler is a terrorism expert at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), and believes only partially in the success of such controls. “Border controls are of course another element in the security architecture in Germany. However, you have to understand what border controls can achieve,” said Schindler in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA. Controls could be very effective in combating illegal migration and people smugglers. “It can also effectively identify people who should actually be applying for asylum in another EU country under the Dublin Protocol,” says Schindler.
But: “In the fight against terrorism, border controls are logically only effective if it is known in advance that the person in question belongs to a terrorist group. Unfortunately, this is usually not known.” Border controls could therefore only be one element of the fight against terrorism at home – in addition to adapting powers, acquiring the appropriate technologies and hiring the appropriate personnel in the security authorities, says Schindler.
Difficult fight against terrorism: police lack equipment
However, the police are not doing particularly well in terms of personnel and technical equipment, as the head of the police union (GdP), Jochen Kopelke, recently said in an interview with this editorial team. The government is planning additional spending of one billion euros on internal security in the next budget. But: “We need the billion more now, not just from 2025,” said Kopelke.
First monitoring of terror channels, then border controls
Meanwhile, police officers have long complained that data retention is not possible in Germany to the full extent. Without this instrument, which stores personal data for investigations over a longer period of time, the fight against terrorism would be a toothless tiger, say security circles.
Expert Schindler also emphasizes that central data retention is central to monitoring terrorist communication channels in social media or in messenger services such as Telegram. “And the better the security authorities are able to find such communication channels, the more effective border controls are as an instrument for combating terrorism.”
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