On July 7, Poland imposed border controls with Lithuania and Germany. This move is authorized under the Schengen Borders Code (article 25-28) and is set to last for the next 30 days. Following this, all the crossing points alongside Germany (52) and Lithuania (13) are closed for the migrants. The Polish President Donald Tusk has framed the issue as a matter of national security and of EU’s defense after thousands of people protested under the slogan of “Citizen Patrols” along the Polish-German border.
Organized by the far-right and conservative parties, the protest opposed Germany’s decision of sending back all the illegal immigrants back to Poland following the Dublin III regulation that allows migrants to apply for an asylum in the first European country they illegally enter. Tusk said, “The Polish border is attacked by German services”. Berlin’s viewpoint on the issue is very clear: keep your migrants to yourself. However, the attitude of the both parties violate the long-standing EU norms i.e. article 3 of the Treaty of the European Union which allows freedom of movement across Europe without any restrictions.
Poland serves as a gateway to Western Europe and historically has been the first choice as a transit state for the unauthorized immigrants targeting Germany. In 2024 alone, more than 30,000 immigrants tried to cross the Polish border, predominantly they entered from Belarus. Despite strict control and regulations by the Polish authorities, more than 10,000 people were succeeded in their attempts, and this number has so far reached 4,600 since the start of 2025. The eastern corridor, connecting Russia-Belarus-Poland to Germany has witnessed a 192% (approximately) surge in the past few years as reported by Frontex, highlighting a duel-role of Poland: either to serve as a buffer zone or continue to act as a main transit hub for the illegal migration.
Belarus played a critical role in instigating the present crisis. For example, it has used immigrants flow as a hybrid weapon against EU. This anti-EU policy is driven by the EU’s sanctions on Belarus over its rigged presidential elections, forced landing of the Ryanair flight to arrest a journalist, and excessive support to Russia in Ukraine War. Multiple reports have shown that the state-run agencies are facilitating the illegal migration by providing cheap dunki packages, visas, and a promise of crossing the border. In this regard, migrants land on Minsk, notably stemming from Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen, and are facilitated further by the government to reach Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. The ultimate destiny in most of the cases is Germany.
Since May 2025, Germany has deployed its forces across the Polish border to curb the flow of undocumented migrants. The German Chancellor Fredrick Merz has called it a “common problem” facing both states and initiated strict actions. The interior minister Alexander Dobrindt has further increased the border security to achieve the desired outcomes. Although a German court objected with the government’s decision over the deportation of three Somali asylum seekers, calling it against the EU norms (Dublin Rulings), Merz did not change his stance. To maintain a public order and governance, Berlin has returned more than 7,900 illegal migrants back to Poland in the past few months.
The EU commission has stepped in and provided €52 million to Poland under its “hybrid threats” program to strengthen the eastern borders of Poland via fencing, advance surveillance system, and border forces. The EU commission has accused Belarus of the state-sponsored smuggling campaigns to undermine the EU’s security. As said by Ursula von der Leyen, “This is not a migration crisis. This is an attempt of an authoritarian regime to destabilize its democratic neighbors”. Also, Musk reintroduced 30 days internal border checks. Given the discriminatory and uncoordinated actions by Berlin, Musk owes reciprocal measures and has stated that “Poland’s patience is wearing out”. Overall, the action-reaction mechanism by the neighboring states is weakening the prospects of reviving the long-awaited Weimar Triangle on the one hand, and is undermining the Schengen’s system on the other hand.
Here arises a question: why Poland is anxious with Germany over the current scenario? Firstly, Poland accuses Germany of not following the Dublin regulations – a key pillar in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) – which deals with the procedures, rules, and other formalities related to immigrants seeking asylum in EU countries. The recent action by Germany violates the fundamental principles of the Dublin regulation (i.e. of preventing refugee shopping, refugee orbit, and assigning clear responsibility to one state). When it comes to immigrants, Poland accuses, Germany excessively focuses on the article 13 (irregular entry), but avoids the formal procedure of sending migrants back to Poland.
For instance, Germany must have followed the identification process (utilizing EURODAC system), formal request to Poland (under article 18 1(a), and 1(d)), response time (approximately 2 months), and then the formal transfer (within the 6 months after the end of response time). Instead, Germany is whether denying the entry or pushing back migrants to Poland, which is already fed up from the Ukrainian immigrants (above 2 million entered Poland since the start of Ukraine War).
Secondly, Berlin’s actions are devoid of complying with the CEAS responsibilities. The CEAS system which ensures respect for human rights, shared responsibilities, and efficient and fear asylum procedure is fading. The due process, as ruled by the Berlin court in the Somalian asylum case in June 2025, involves registration of a claim, evaluation of the responsibility, and ensuring the legal appeal and aid to the migrants. But, Germany is compromising the EU’s spirit over its national security. For instance, it is directly denying the entry and deporting thousands of immigrants that involves escapism from the shared responsibilities and adding the burden on the front line state i.e. Poland.
Thirdly, the domestic backlash is another reason behind Musk’s hard actions. As Germany is sending back huge number of migrants, Poland becomes a victim of their economic frustration. Very recently, a Venezuelan migrant was accused of killing Torun, a 24 years old Polish woman and the incident followed another such tragedy: the murder of Nowe, a polish woman, by the Cambodian immigrants. These events resulted in the political polarization as the conservative and far-right parties (Law and Justice (PiS) and Confederation respectively) are organizing mass protests and the social-media campaigns over the increasing crime rates in the country. Thousands of protestors have organized a march across the western front in order to reject Berlin’s bid of throwing migrants back to Poland.
One the one hand, framing of the issue using radical slogans – such as “flooding of migrants”, “unheard of EU”, and government being “weak on migration” – and the public safety concerns has resulted in government’s anti-immigrant actions. On the other hand, the human rights groups (i.e. Helsinki Foundation) have warned Poland over the rising xenophobic public sentiments that could have negative spill over in the coming days.
Overall, the refusal to accept immigrants and the reintroduction of the border controls by Poland have implications for the Schengen Scheme which ensures free and non-discriminatory movement of the people across Europe. The internal border regulation is also eroding trust and the mutual sharing of the responsibilities by the both states. Poland’s mayor has addressed the situation saying “informal suspension of the Schengen”. It has disturbed the general population as the people with the legal status or EU citizenship have to wait for hours in a queue to cross the Poland-German border. It has resulted in delays in the economic and commercial activities across the borders, particularly near Frankfurt-Order and Zgorzelec. In short, the dispute over the immigrants issue has shaken he EU’s norms of free and frictionless borders.
Moreover, it has implications for the revival of Weimar Triangle. For instance, since taking office back in 2008, must advocate for the trilateral leadership role by France, Germany, and Poland in EU. He feared that, otherwise, Poland could be missed out from the central decision making. However, in 2015, the right-wing nationalist government of Poland, led by Law and Justice Party, broke away with Germany.
It suspected EU becoming the 4th German Reich and used harsh rhetoric over the German leadership in EU. The re-election of Musk in 2023 provided hope for the integrated policy reforms in EU. But, his stance on Ukraine War, EU-Trump engagement, and above all, immigration contrasts with that of Merz. In this scenario, German-French relations are proceeding without incorporation Poland, devastating his long-awaited bid of reviving WT.
At domestic level, as mentioned earlier, the xenophobic sentiments (the fear of immigrants) are rising. Political parties in Germany and Poland have utilized this threat to purse unilateral pathways instead of adopting internationalist posture. The excessive use of social media to highlight the issues related to migrants, like that of governance, public safety, and crimes, have resulted in anti-immigrants sentiments among public that is being utilized by the politicians to leverage in the elections, ultimately resulting in the rise of far-right parties. Germany has reinforced its “Schengen firewall”, and Poland too is getting harsh on the issue, restricting movements not only from Belarus, but also actively diverting its focus on Latvia, and Lithuania that are the possible alternatives for migrants to bypass the strict entry along Belarus-Poland border.
Furthermore, the immigrant crisis has gradually resulted in the securitization of the Eastern EU, with states such as Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland adopting anti-immigrants policies given the excessive blame Western EU states put on them. From Poland publishing “White Book” (in 2013) to EU declaring it a “Hybrid Threat”, the crisis has gain national security rhetoric. The nation first approach has undermined the collective response of EU over the immigrant crisis. For instance, Poland and its allies refused to sign EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. It shows the disturbance of the regional unity and cohesion that was once a symbol of pride for EU.
In conclusion, one can say that Germany and Poland are divided over the rising immigrant crisis. Belarus has played a negative role in this realm. Domestic factors, such a protest in Poland, and the governance rhetoric in Germany, are also undermining the Dublin regulations and CEAS. Germany accused Poland over its inability to stop migrants from entering the EU, while Poland differs from Germany over not following the procedures of Dublin regulation and immigration rules while returning migrants back to Poland. The rising migrant crimes and massive backlash at home have compelled Musk to adopt temporary ban on the immigration, resulting in sidelining the revival of long-awaited Weimer Triangle, and eroding the collective immigration mechanism of EU.
