Polish Border Guard awaits clarification on return of migrants by Germany
Wednesday's edition of the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on yet another incident involving the return of a group of migrants from Germany to Poland.
According to the newspaper, it is claimed that German police on Saturday instructed a group of about a dozen or so women and men to take their belongings and quickly cross the bridge that links Frankfurt (Oder) and the western border town of Slubice.
"At the time of going to press, it is not clear why a group of people were sent to Poland," added the newspaper.
"Preliminary findings indicate that the incident may have involved a group of Ukrainian citizens who were refused entry by the German police," Polish Border Guard spokesperson Andrzej Juzwiak has told PAP. "The commander of the Border Guard post in (the western village of - PAP) Swiecko has asked his German counterpart for an explanation."
A similar incident took place on June 14 when a German police van crossed into the border town of Osinow Dolny and left a family of five migrants (including two adults and three children) on the Polish side of the border.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk intervened and discussed the issue with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Czeslaw Mroczek told Radio Plus on Friday that Germany had reintroduced border controls due to the Euro 2024 being held there, and the case concerning the return of migrants concerned a border bridge, "so the German side had the right to refuse entry to people who, for example, did not have the required documents."
"In my opinion, this is clearly a different situation," he added. "It should be remembered that Germany first restored random and now total border controls due to the Euro taking place in Germany," he explained. "Therefore, as part of the restored border controls, they are not admitting anyone who does not have the proper documents to enter Germany."
"There have been several thousand refusals of entry in recent months," he added. (PAP)
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