Political posturing over migration has delivered yet another blow to Europe’s beleaguered free-travel zone. Faced with right-wing demands at home to control the flow of people arriving from outside the EU’s borders, the leaders of Poland and Germany are seeking easy wins which might placate populists — but put the once-sacred Schengen area on life support. Warsaw’s patience with Germany sending migrants back to Poland “is becoming exhausted,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, as he announced the imposition of checks on his country’s borders with Germany and Lithuania from July 7. Almost four decades after the introduction of the borderless travel area that encompasses 450 million people from 29 countries — four of which aren’t in the EU — supposedly temporary border controls in the name of exceptional security concerns are increasingly the norm, creating the impression Schengen exists more in name than in substance. But with the rise of far-right parties and several years of migration from Ukraine — and before that, the Middle East — carveouts to the border-free zone rules have become an easy solution for politicians looking to show they mean action. “We consider the introduction of controls necessary,” Tusk said, pointing the finger at Germany’s “unilateral” action. In May, the conservative-led government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz ramped up checks on Germany’s borders, including with Poland, following pressure from Berlin’s own opposition party, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Warsaw’s patience with Germany sending migrants back to Poland “is becoming exhausted,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. | Rafal Guz/EPA German police will turn away more undocumented immigrants, including asylum seekers, Merz said. The move further bolstered border controls the previous government had already put in place October 2023. The crackdown riled Germany’s neighbors, including Poland, despite Merz’s promises to step up Berlin’s relationship with Warsaw — an alliance he considers key for driving a united European defense policy. While politicians have warned Germany’s controls could chip away at the free movement of people and goods within the Schengen area, critics have also called the border measures largely symbolic. Poland’s Fakt newspaper said that German authorities returned 1,087 people to Poland between May 1 and June 15 this year, pointing out that those numbers aren’t significantly different from last year’s. According to German police union figures, the new checks led to 160 asylum applicants being rejected in the first four weeks. It’s a small fraction of total refusals — on average, up to 1,300 people per week are rejected for lacking the necessary documentation. Germany’s move, however, has created a political problem for Tusk’s ruling centrist Civic Coalition. Having narrowly lost the presidential election to the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, it’s feeling the hot breath of rightwing opposition parties that want a tougher stance on migration. Civic Coalition and PiS are currently neck-and-neck in POLITICO’s Poll of Polls and the hard-right Confederation has surged since the last general election in 2023. All 3 Years 2 Years 1 Year 6 Months Smooth Kalman Polish civilian vigilante groups tied to right-wing parties are staging patrols along the frontier with Germany. “Poland’s western border is ceasing to exist,” Mariusz Błaszczak, a senior PiS politician, warned last week. He blamed Tusk’s “servility toward Berlin.” Sławomir Mentzen, a Confederation leader, accused the Polish Border Guard of cooperating with Germany in accepting illegal migrants. The government has denounced those attacks. “Don’t play politics with Poland’s security. This is not the time or place for such actions,” Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s interior minister, said on X.  Poland’s retaliatory controls have also put Merz’s border policy in the firing line, with Germany’s left-wing opposition painting Warsaw’s decision as a clear setback. “This is a devastating signal for a German government and a ‘foreign chancellor’ Merz, who promised to regain trust in Europe,” Chantal Kopf, a lawmaker for the Greens, told POLITICO. Knut Abraham, a member of Merz’s conservatives and the government’s coordinator for the German-Polish relationship, in an interview with Welt also warned against lasting checks. While they are “necessary as a political signal that migration policy in Germany has changed … the solution cannot be to push migrants back and forth between Poland and Germany or to cement border controls on both sides,” he said. Merz on Tuesday defended Germany’s border checks. “We naturally want to preserve this Schengen area, but freedom of movement in the Schengen area will only work in the long term if it is not abused by those who promote irregular migration, in particular by smuggling migrants,” he said.

BRUSSELS ― The threat of a prolonged war in Ukraine without military backing from the United States is leading European Union politicians to contemplate the emergence of a fresh wave of huge numbers of refugees. “If Putin escalates this war even further and the American support should disappear, and if this should lead to a larger refugee movement … we need a binding distribution of the Ukraine refugees throughout the EU, according to a fair mechanism,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters Wednesday. In December last year, more than 4.3 million people were under temporary protection in European countries after fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Eurostat data. So far, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have received the most Ukrainian refugees, and in the event of a new, larger refugee wave, “that will have to change,” Faeser said. Faeser added that she doesn’t currently expect another large refugee surge and that it’s “just a scenario” ministers have to discuss. Germany will stand by Ukraine “as long as Putin’s terrible attack against Ukraine continues,” she said. Europe’s political leaders rushed to X, formerly Twitter, to throw their support behind Ukraine after U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance held a shouting match with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the Oval Office. But the topic of Ukrainian refugees taps into European reservations on taking in migrants, with deportations high on the agenda of an EU meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, who said he’d use his Brussels visit to formally inform the European Commission of the brand new Austrian government‘s intention to halt family reunification, treated the prospect of more Ukrainian refugees in much the same vein. Per capita, Austria has “clearly taken in more [refugees] than many other countries,” Karner told reporters. The country “has made its contribution” and now wants to focus on the integration of the people who are already there, he said, “That’s also the reason why we’re now stopping family reunification.”  In absolute terms, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic were hosting the highest number of refugees, with about 1 million people under temporary protection in both Germany and Poland. But when compared with local populations, the Baltics, Slovakia and Ireland were also key destinations. The temporary protection status, an EU provision that was first triggered for Ukraine’s refugees, means they have the right to work, live and study in their host country, although NGOs have warned that the temporary nature of the status has nonetheless undermined refugees’ integration. The local language, proximity to Ukraine, a local support network and the available information about local benefit measures all influence refugees’ choice to move to a specific country.

Romania and Bulgaria will as of Jan. 1 become full members of the Schengen free-travel zone, EU interior ministers agreed Thursday. The green light follows Austria’s decision on Monday to drop its veto against both countries’ accession. The countries were supposed to join the Schengen zone in 2023 along with Croatia, but that deal unraveled when Austria objected that Bulgaria and Romania were failing to handle a steep rise in migrants arriving through the Western Balkan route. “After ‘Schengen Air’, ‘Schengen Land’ is now open to Romania and Bulgaria,” said Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner on Monday, adding that Austria’s demands led to a drop in migrant’s arrival numbers. Romania and Bulgaria partially joined the Schengen zone in March, with air and maritime restrictions being lifted. The internal affairs ministers of Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania agreed in November to “initiate the necessary steps” to set a date to lift checks on land borders with Romania and Bulgaria, on the condition that joint efforts to stem irregular migration were continued.

BRUSSELS — Romania’s ultranationalist wannabe President George Simion has two role models he hopes offer a winning formula: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. “We are sort of a Trumpist party,” the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party said, but “it is not by chance that I am happy for my party being in the same political family as Meloni.” Italy’s hard-right prime minister restored “hope for Italians … in the European project,” Simion told POLITICO in an interview. “What we have seen is … a Melonization” of Europe, he said. And now, he added, “believe me, there will be a Simionization as well.” Romanians head to the polls Sunday for the first round of the country’s presidential elections pitting 13 candidates against each other. It comes at a critical time for the southeastern EU nation as it faces a yawning deficit and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine raging at its border. At stake is Romania’s positioning in the EU, with a win for Simion tilting the balance of power in the bloc further to the right and cementing a broader trend of democracies pivoting sharply toward hard-right politics. Despite its checkered history of corruption, Bucharest has long been viewed as a reliable NATO partner and EU bastion in the region. Simion, who cut his political teeth agitating for unification between Romania and Moldova and is currently polling second behind the country’s center-left Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, has vowed to remain loyal to NATO and work to reform the EU from the inside if elected. That’s a similar tactic adopted by Meloni after her election victory last year. But other candidates, including Elena Lasconi, a reformist candidate polling neck-and-neck with Simion, have branded him an “extremist.” AUR rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic on an anti-vaccine platform, while the party also drew criticism in 2022 after calling mandatory Holocaust education in Romanian schools a “minor topic.” Party leadership is undeterred, however, as global political winds gust to the right. “Even if we are conservative, which is not to the liking of the establishment in Brussels, even if we believe in many of the values President Trump believes in,” Simion said, “we also believe that we need a strong, united Europe.” The politician insisted he would “work together” with the EU’s mainstream parties if elected, with Romania’s full accession to the visa-free Schengen zone, pushing for a directly elected EU executive and boosting industrial production in the bloc at the top of his list of priorities. But unlike Meloni, Simion has openly vowed he would push back against Brussels even if that means breaking EU rules in a move more reminiscent of the populist leaders of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico. “I would be a liar to say we would respect EU law,” he said. “If tomorrow [there is] a new law that we didn’t vote for … or laws that are not good for Romania,” he said, “I will try to use all my powers to stop what is doing harm for my people.” At stake is Romania’s positioning in the EU, with a win for George Simion tilting the balance of power in the bloc further to the right. | Robert Ghement/EPA-EFE Meanwhile, Simion has pledged to suspend military aid to Ukraine, whose government has banned the hard-right leader from visiting the country over his promotion of “unionist ideology,” like neighboring Moldova.  He has also faced accusations of meeting with Russian spies, charges he has repeatedly denied. Speaking to foreign journalists on Wednesday, he branded Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.” Still, the AUR party chief said he wants a cease-fire in Ukraine “as soon as possible” and called for a peace agreement brokered by Trump — even if that means Kyiv giving up land currently controlled by Russia. “I cannot say … to Ukrainians give up your national territory,” he said, “but it’s hard to believe that they won’t be obliged to.”

Poland’s government aims to temporarily suspend the right of arrivals to claim asylum even though that clashes with both international law and European Union rules — but Prime Minister Donald Tusk insists he will not backtrack. “It is our right and our duty to protect the Polish and European border. Its security will not be negotiated. With anyone,” Tusk said on social media on Monday afternoon. Tusk, a former president of the European Council and a key leader in the center-right European People’s Party that also includes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is reflecting a harsher tone on migration sweeping the Continent. A tough border policy is also part of Tusk’s effort to ensure that his Civic Coalition party is in pole position to win next year’s presidential election. Polish voters are increasingly skeptical about receiving migrants — especially from non-European countries. Over the last three years, Poland has seen thousands of people trying to cross its heavily forested border with Belarus. They have been encouraged to fly to Minsk by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, and are then directed by Belarusian authorities toward the border with Poland as well as Lithuania. Polish authorities call Lukashenko’s tactic “weaponizing” migration as a way of harming the EU and helping his Russian ally, while von der Leyen has denounced what she called a “cruel form of hybrid threat.” Tusk said at least 26,000 people, largely from the Middle East and Africa, crossed over from Belarus this year alone. That’s also prompted Germany to impose border restrictions of its own, complaining about migrants moving west after crossing into the EU. The Polish government announced Saturday it would move to suspend the rights of new arrivals to claim asylum. Brussels warned that is almost certainly incompatible with bloc-wide rules. The Commission told POLITICO that member countries must deal with “hybrid attacks” from Belarus and Russia “without compromising on our values.” Tusk, however, insists he’s only following the lead of other countries.  “The temporary suspension of asylum applications was introduced in Finland in May. It is a response to the hybrid war declared against the entire European Union (primarily Poland) by the regimes in Moscow and Minsk, which involves organizing mass transfers of people across our borders,” Tusk wrote online. In November, Finland temporarily closed its border with Russia and refused to process new applications after groups of would-be asylum-seekers tried to enter. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia subsequently told POLITICO they were leaving open the option of following suit if they too faced the same tactics. Warsaw is aware it is treading a fine line with the new restrictions. “We need to find a balance between what is being proposed in the context of border protection and what arises from international obligations,” Justice Minister Adam Bodnar told radio TOK FM Monday. BREAK WITH BRUSSELS Migration is an increasingly potent political issue and one of the reasons for a surge in support for far-right or populist parties across the Continent. They charge that the bloc’s traditional approach has left the doors wide open to people abusing the system. In response, the Commission in June presented a new package of measures on migration, designed to increase the powers of member countries to return those ineligible to stay in the bloc and introduce a “permanent, legally-binding, but flexible solidarity mechanism to ensure that no EU country is left alone when under pressure.” But countries bordering Russia and Belarus worry that those measures are still too timid to deter Lukashenko and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “The current migration rules do not solve the security challenge that we can see, for example, on the eastern border of the EU,” said a diplomat from one of the countries affected, granted anonymity to speak frankly. “It is not the enemies of the EU that should decide who enters our territory.” According to the diplomat, a meeting of EU leaders at a European Council this week should be used for “an honest discussion to clearly identify and understand the new types of risks. And then we should talk about EU-wide solutions.” DOMESTIC POLITICS Tusk’s move is causing dismay among human rights groups and creating tensions within his governing coalition. “We would like to remind Prime Minister Donald Tusk that the right to asylum is a human right. Groundless suspension of this right, even temporarily, is unacceptable and is in conflict with, among others, the Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Amnesty International’s Polish office said on X on Saturday. Szymon Hołownia, the speaker of parliament and leader of the Poland 2050 party that is part of the coalition, issued a careful statement calling asylum a “sacred right” but also noting it could be suspended “during a state of emergency or martial law and under the ongoing supervision of the parliament.” When he was in opposition, Tusk and his allies frequently criticized the former nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party government for building a barrier along the border with Belarus and for pushing back migrants rather than hearing their asylum claims. Human rights groups said that was illegal and left people to die in remote forests and bogs because Belarus often refused to allow them back into its own territory. But once in power, Tusk has taken a much harder line on the border issue. “Tusk appears to be driven by a desire to avoid getting defeated by PiS on the migration front,” said Jakub Jaraczewski of Democracy Reporting, a Berlin-based NGO. While initial reports of refugees seeking asylum in Poland aroused sympathy, especially among human rights groups and those on the political left, attitudes have hardened in recent years as Lukashenko shows no sign of stopping his migration policy. According to a June poll carried out by Opinia24, Poles remain fairly open to culturally similar Belarusians or Ukrainians but only 14 percent would be happy with an influx of other nationals. “Tusk has to show the voters that he is tough,” said Grzegorz Kuczyński, an expert on Eastern Europe with the Warsaw Institute think tank. “The previous Polish government built a barrier and sent police and military there. The current government is continuing this policy, despite having criticized it while in opposition.” “Poles mostly support a tough immigration policy,” he added. “That is why [Tusk] has taken this position. In this way, he is taking away one of the main arguments of the opposition.” Gabriel Gavin reported from Brussels. Wojciech Kość reported from Warsaw.

Seventeen European countries, including the three largest EU economies, are calling on the European Commission to speed up migrant returns. Fourteen EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, signed an appeal calling on the EU executive to propose new rules making returns policies stricter, Reuters reported. The letter to the Commission says migrants with no right to stay in the EU “must be held accountable,” according to the report. The push comes amid a rightward and anti-immigration shift in multiple EU countries. Austria’s anti-migrant, Russia-friendly Freedom Party (FPÖ) topped the polls in a national election for the first time last weekend. Far-right parties have made major gains or won elections in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to give asylum seekers one-way tickets to Brussels in protest EU fines levelled at the country for breaching EU asylum rules. The 17 European countries in their letter to the Commission are asking for new rules to allow governments to detain illegal migrants if they pose a risk to national security, as well as to force migrants to cooperate with authorities and ensure all EU countries use the same software to manage cases. While not in the EU, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are members of the passport-free Schengen area. Austria’s nominee for the new European Commission, Magnus Brunner, is likely to take over the EU’s migration top job in the coming months, signaling a rightward shift in the EU’s approach to migration. It remains to be seen if the future coalition government in Austria will pressure the EU to move even further rightward on migration policy. The FPÖ’s leader, Herbert Kickl, has accused other Austrian parties of a “sinister” plot to keep the far-right FPÖ out of a future coalition government in the country. EU justice ministers will discuss migration at a meeting in Luxembourg next week.