Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has drawn a positive interim conclusion on the expanded controls at the German borders during the European Football Championship. In the past two weeks, “over 400 arrest warrants have been executed and over 50 hooligans have been prevented from entering the country,” Faeser told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” on Monday. “This shows that it is good that we are also carrying out controls at the borders with Denmark, the Benelux countries and France during the European Championship.”
So far, the police have prevented around 2,300 people from entering the country, a ministry spokesman told the newspaper. Shortly before the start of the European Football Championship, controls were extended to all German borders at the beginning of June. They will remain in place until shortly after the tournament, until July 19. Prior to this, there were already temporary controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria due to the migration situation.
With regard to the European Championships, Faeser spoke of a “huge effort” for the federal and state police. For the Federal Police, the football tournament is “the largest operation in their history, with 22,000 Federal Police officers on duty every day.”
Overall, the minister gave a positive interim assessment of the European Football Championship. The atmosphere in the stadiums and cities was great, she said. “My impression is that fans from all over Europe feel very comfortable with us.”
