2024-09-11 20:18 update: 2024-09-11, 20:37
Fot. PAP/Marcin Bielecki
The Polish delegation in the European Parliament (EP) has requested a meeting of the EP's special civil liberties committee to scrutinise Germany's decision to bring back border checks.
The Polish delegation in the European Parliament (EP) has requested a meeting of the EP's special civil liberties committee to scrutinise Germany's decision to bring back border checks.
On Monday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that the country will bring back temporary checks at all of Germany's borders from September 16 for a period of six months.
"How can we condemn (Hungarian President Viktor - PAP) Orban, and (at the same time - PAP) close our eyes about Germany," Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, a Polish member of the European Parliament, said on Wednesday.
Sienkiewicz submitted the Polish delegation's proposed request for a meeting of the EP's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) at the European People's Party meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
"We would like the European Parliament to probe what went on in Germany, institutionally. The LIBE commission is a natural choice for us," he told PAP.
This sudden decision has provoked anger from many EU partners, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk calling the move "unacceptable".
According to the rules of the passport-free Schengen zone, which Germany is also part of, member states hold the right to bring back border checks if the circumstances prove to be 'essential' and 'relative' to the situation.
Sienkiewicz added that "we would like to find out the fundamental facts. What were the reasons behind such drastic measures?"
He continued by asking: "Why were European partners not notified in advance, allowing them time to prepare? Why were the restrictions put in place for so long, and what are the implications for Germany's security?"
The next LIBE meeting is planned for September 30, although it is yet unconfirmed if the probe will be on the agenda. (PAP)
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