Polish man sues Germany over border checks

3 weeks ago 32

Jakub Wolinski seems similar a quiescent man, not the benignant who goes looking for a fight. And yet helium has decided to instrumentality Germany to tribunal implicit its checks at the German-Polish border.

Wolinski has been positively amazed by the effect to his case, but besides a small stressed. "Thankfully, I person my household astatine home," smiles the 37-year-old, who says that his household helps him unwind.

Born successful the Polish borderline municipality of Zgorzelec, Wolinski has been surviving successful the German municipality of Görlitz for immoderate clip now. Zgorzelec and Görlitz are connected the other banks of the Lusatian Neisse and are like two parts of 1 metropolis separated by the river.

He works for a ample German institution and commutes regularly betwixt the 2 neighboring countries. Wolinski often gets stopped astatine the border, possibly due to the fact that helium drives a minivan with tinted windows.

Do vans get peculiar attraction astatine the border?

In their hunt for migrants illegally entering the country, German constabulary officers often absorption connected vehicles similar this.

A antheral   successful  a yellowish  vest with the connection     'Polizei' (police) printed connected  the backmost  checks the papers of the operator  of a achromatic  van. The look   of neither idiosyncratic   is visibleA German constabulary serviceman checks the papers of a van operator astatine the German-Polish borderline successful Frankfurt an der OderImage: Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance

"I usage this conveyance for backstage purposes, determination are children's car seats successful the back, and my papers authorities wherever I americium registered. I don't cognize connected what ground the constabulary mightiness presume that I could beryllium smuggling radical crossed the border," helium told DW.

Both Germany and Poland are portion of the Schengen area, which includes 29 European countries that person abolished checks astatine their shared borders. The rules governing question wrong the country are contained successful the Schengen Borders Code.

Wolinski says that helium is not alert that the rules successful the Schengen Borders Code bash not use to minivans and that these vehicles whitethorn beryllium checked much often than others.

Case centers connected the legality of the borderline checks

Although helium has been stopped astatine the borderline and checked galore times, Wolinski is taking Germany to tribunal implicit 1 circumstantial borderline cheque helium experienced.

"Initially, the constabulary officers were not capable to explicate to maine connected what ineligible ground they wanted to cheque my car," helium says. "Then they got successful interaction with different officers. After that, they made notation to 2 paragraphs."

Three constabulary  officers successful  yellowish  vests with the connection     'Polizei' (police) printed connected  the backmost  inspect a white, windowless van. Behind the van, which is parked connected  a constrictive  path, is simply a constabulary  vanMigrants without visas are often smuggled crossed European borders successful vans similar theseImage: Patrick Pleul/dpa/picture alliance

But the officers' arguments did not person him, truthful helium decided to bring an enactment against Germany.

'Germany is systematically breaching European law'

"The German authorities indispensable halt the checks astatine the Polish borderline immediately," explains his lawyer Christoph Tometten. "It is not acceptable that Germany is systematically breaching European instrumentality with these checks. The state of question of EU citizens is an outstanding bully that indispensable nary longer beryllium called into question. The European Court of Justice has emphasized this again and again, and that is binding for German authorities and courts."

This is not the archetypal clip the Berlin-based lawyer has been asked for enactment successful conjunction with a lawsuit relating to borderline controls wrong the EU. The website Legal Tribune Online (LTO) describes the lawsuit of an Austrian national who brought an enactment against Austria aft being checked successful a bid travelling from Austria to Germany.

In that case, too, Tometten was the attorney. The lawsuit went each the mode to the European Court of Justice successful Luxembourg. According to LTO, the tribunal ruled that borderline checks could not simply beryllium introduced and extended without reason.

Changes to the Schengen Borders Code

In short, Wolinski is not the archetypal to instrumentality an EU Member State to tribunal connected this matter.

"Last year, the Schengen Borders Code was changed. Now, countries tin present borderline checks for longer — for 2 years — and tin past widen them doubly nether definite conditions," explains Johanna Hase of the Institute for European Politics successful Berlin.

"They tin usage the aforesaid crushed to extend checks for up to 3 years," she told DW, "but they can, of course, alteration that reason."

A throwback to the past

But backmost to Görlitz. Life successful the eastbound German borderline municipality has truly deteriorated since the reintroduction of borderline controls successful October 2023, says Wolinski.

Long forgotten problems person returned, helium says: "Congestion connected the motorway, successful the municipality and astatine the borderline crossings."

A pistillate   (Johanna Hase) with shoulder-length acheronian  hairsbreadth  wearing a greenish  pullover und a acheronian  overgarment   stands successful  beforehand   of a doorway  with vertical blindsSchengen countries tin present borderline checks for 2 years and tin past widen them doubly nether definite conditions, says Johanna Hase of the Institute for European PoliticsImage: Magdalena Gwozdz-Pallokat/DW

He told DW that different happening that locals had forgotten was the adjacent scrutiny of constabulary officers, adding that helium feels similar a suspected radical smuggler each clip helium crosses the border.

Wolinski is suing the Federal Republic of Germany, "represented by the Federal Police Directorate successful Pirna."

Because the lawsuit is ongoing, the German Federal Police declined to remark connected it.

Temporary borderline checks are permissible

Schengen rules, which are the ineligible ground for Europe's unfastened borders system, bash so let for impermanent borderline checks successful exigency situations. Such checks are permissible successful the lawsuit of a "serious threat," for illustration to home security.

However, determination indispensable beryllium bully reasons for the instauration of checks, and they cannot simply beryllium extended astatine will, arsenic the ruling against Austria astatine the ECJ showed.

Uncontrolled migration and terrorist attacks are the reasons being utilized by Germany to warrant the exigency borderline checks, which person been extended respective times. "I truly would question whether the menace is truthful large that Germany is forced — arsenic the rules licence — to present borderline checks arsenic a past resort," says Hase. "This is different crushed wherefore I americium precise funny to cognize however the lawsuit volition cookware out."

Schengen and Dublin

The crushed wherefore Germany and different countries are stretching the limits of the Schengen Borders Code with their borderline checks is linked to the Dublin Regulation. Named aft the Irish capital, this EU regularisation stipulates that persons seeking extortion indispensable registry successful the archetypal EU state they participate — which is not, arsenic a rule, Germany oregon Austria.

A pistillate   connected  crutches (Nancy Faeser) speaks to constabulary  officers. Behind her are a information    authoritative  and different   menGermany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited a borderline crossing successful Görlitz successful August 2024Image: Paul Glaser/dpa/picture alliance

The information is, however, that this regularisation is being undermined connected a monolithic scale, whether by the activities of radical smugglers oregon the information that immoderate authorities question migrants done astatine the border.

Wolinski is precise alert of this. "I would suggest considering concern successful our information elsewhere," helium told DW. "I americium convinced that our Polish borderline guards, who are defending our eastbound frontier and, therefore, the EU's outer border, would beryllium delighted if the men who are guarding the borderline present would enactment them there."

Protecting a cardinal European freedom

Wolinski says that what matters to him is the extortion of a cardinal European freedom, namely the state of question guaranteed by the Schengen Agreement.

"I privation to support Schengen. I americium taking Germany to tribunal due to the fact that I unrecorded astatine the German-Polish border, but excavation is not the lone case." The Danes power their borders, arsenic bash the Austrians, the French and others, helium says.

"We are seeing the dilatory disintegration of the Schengen area, and I americium of the sentiment that we indispensable enactment present to halt it," helium told DW. Otherwise, says Wolinski, Europe risks losing 1 of its large achievements.

The Pole is keen to constituent retired that helium is successful nary mode trying to drum up anti-German sentiment with his case, which is surely not without a chance. "That's the mode it is with bully friends: Sometimes 1 volition bash thing dumb and get carried away," helium says. In specified cases, helium continues, 1 "buddy" has to nudge the different and say: "Thus acold and nary further."

This nonfiction was primitively published successful German and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.

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