However, Poland’s prime minister was in no doubt that the measures were triggered by “the internal German political situation… and not our policy towards illegal migration at our borders”.
Poland has faced a surge in illegal migrant crossings over its border with Belarus since 2021 which it considers part of a “hybrid war” waged by both Belarus and Russia. Many of the migrants head for Germany.
Donald Tusk told a meeting of Polish diplomats in Warsaw he would ask for urgent consultations with all the countries affected.
European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said any reintroduction of border checks had to be done in line with the Schengen code, so while Germany’s measures were possible, “these controls must be necessary and proportionate”.
In Austria, where the far right is leading the opinion polls ahead of 29 September elections, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said that he had instructed the head of police not to take anyone back who had been rejected by Germany.
“There is no leeway,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The mayor of a Dutch border town, Joris Bengevoord, said the border region with Germany had already experienced delays during the Euro 2024 football championship over the summer, when Germany imposed temporary border checks.
“At some border crossings, waiting times were up to half an hour,” said Mr Bengevoord, who is chairman of the Euregio alliance of German and Dutch border towns.
Dutch transport group TLN accused Germany of undermining the Schengen agreement.
Some political leaders on the right in the Netherlands have taken a different view.
“If Germany can do it, why can’t we?” asked Geert Wilders, whose anti-immigration, far-right Freedom Party came first in last year’s Dutch elections and is now part of the government. “As far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”
Dilan Yesilgöz of the centre-right liberal VVD was also keen on the “super-interesting” German plan. It sent a message that the government wanted control, she said, even if political symbolism by itself was of little help.
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