Accordingly, the route via Turkey to Greece is again the “most active migration route”. In May, 1 250 people traveled to Europe via this route, which is eight times as many as in the previous month.
Against this background, the AfD parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Alexander Gauland, called for increased border protection. Illegal migrants have to be “consistently and without exception” rejected at the external borders. “The migration crisis is still acute and unsolved. The Corona pandemic only temporarily displaced illegal migration to Europe from the public eye,” Gauland warned.
However, the Corona crisis had shown that it was very possible to effectively control and protect one’s own borders. “Even if the borders are opened again for intra-European travel, border controls must be maintained in order to prevent illegal crossings by non-EU citizens,” said Gauland. Since Monday, the borders between Germany and its neighboring countries have been passable again without controls.
Turkey had let thousands of migrants pass through Greece in March, increasing pressure on the EU. Gauland warned: “As long as the EU is dependent on the arbitrariness of Turkish President Erdogan, who can open the locks at will, and as long as the federal government continues to send out fatal invitation and ‘everyone can stay’ signals, the next asylum rush is only a question of time.”
