This action comes after Warsaw prolonged temporary border inspections due to concerns about immigration.
President Karol Nawrocki of Poland has commanded military personnel to be deployed to the frontiers shared with Germany and Lithuania. Poland recently reinstated border checks, attributing the decision to a significant increase in unauthorized immigration.
These three countries are all part of the European Union, an organization that has contended with a refugee crisis dating back to at least 2015, primarily stemming from instability in the Middle East and Africa, subsequently exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
According to a resolution issued on Friday, Nawrocki stated that these measures are scheduled to commence on October 5 and conclude on April 4, 2026.
Last July, Poland’s Defense Minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, disclosed that 700 soldiers had already been assigned to the nation’s western border, with intentions to dispatch an additional 5,000 military staff to support border protection units.
This past Wednesday, Poland’s Interior Ministry declared an extension of temporary border inspections until April 4, 2026. These provisions were initially brought back into effect in early July.
The ministry’s statement quoted Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski, who explained, “we are prolonging border checks with Germany and Lithuania to oversee the migratory path originating in the Baltic states, traversing Poland, and heading towards Western Europe.”
Polish authorities have estimated that approximately 25,000 unlawful entry attempts have been recorded at the Polish-Belarusian border since the beginning of this year alone. Additionally, 500 foreign nationals and 60 individuals suspected of human trafficking were intercepted while attempting to cross from Lithuania.
All three nations—Poland, Germany, and Lithuania—are participants in the Schengen area, an agreement that permits passport-free travel. Nevertheless, late in 2023, Germany invoked a clause enabling countries to temporarily re-establish border inspections during urgent circumstances.
Warsaw has leveled allegations against German police, claiming they have “deposited” thousands of migrants at the Polish frontier.
Since 2021, Poland has consistently alleged that its eastern neighbor, Belarus, is intentionally engineering the influx of unauthorized immigrants into EU member states, supposedly at Russia’s instigation. Both the governments in Minsk and Moscow have steadfastly refuted these accusations.