Germany to extend border checks by six months, minister tells Bild

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt speaks during a joint press conference with EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration following the „Munich Migration Meeting" a European ministerial meeting on migration in Munich, on October 4, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 16 February 2026
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Germany to extend border checks by six months, minister tells Bild

  • Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that France needs to boost its defense spending

Germany will extend checks at ​its borders by a further six months beyond March 15 due to the ongoing ‌security ‌situation, ​Interior ‌Minister ⁠Alexander ​Dobrindt told Bild ⁠newspaper in comments released on Monday.
The corresponding notification is ⁠currently being sent ‌to the ‌European ​Commission, ‌the newspaper reported ‌citing sources in the government.
“We are extending controls ‌at the borders with our neighboring countries — ⁠border ⁠controls are one element of our reorganization of migration policy in Germany,” Bild quoted Dobrindt as saying.

Meannwhile, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday that France needs to boost its defense spending to turn warm words about European sovereignty into concrete capabilities.
“He repeatedly and correctly refers to our pursuit of European sovereignty,” Wadephul said of French President Emmanuel Macron in a radio interview with broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. “Anyone who talks about it needs to act accordingly in their own country.”