Germany and Switzerland in bitter border row after Merkel finally tightens up nation’s security
Swiss had been using tough German stance to justify turning back 1,000 migrants A DAY
SWITZERLAND is locked in a row with Germany over how to stem the flow of illegal immigrants after the country finally beefed up its border security.
On Monday Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer said the new tighter security measures showed that Berlin had withdrawn its open door policy towards migrants.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been under increasing pressure for months to toughen up her stance on migrants after more than one million refugees poured into Germany last year fleeing poverty in the Middle East and Africa.
Tensions have heightened over the issue further following a spate of attacks on civilians in the country last month - including three carried out by migrants.
The official added that Switzerland is turning away more than 1,000 migrants A DAY because they are trying to cross its borders from Italy to try and reach Germany.
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Mr Maurer said German authorities had assigned an additional 90 border guards and 40 police officers to turn back illegal migrants from Switzerland.
He told a weekend congress of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP): "Germany is consistently securing the border to Switzerland.
"Germany has clearly moved away from its welcoming attitude."
Switzerland itself has cracked down on migrants -many of them African - trying to enter from southern neighbour Italy after crossing the Mediterranean.
Humanitarian groups are scrutinising if the stance violates human rights conventions, which Swiss officials insist they will safeguard.
Mr Maurer, who as finance minister oversees border guards, used the tougher German line to justify Switzerland's approach of sending back to Italy up to 1,000 migrants a day trying to transit to Germany or other points north without valid papers and without applying for asylum in Switzerland.
The main transit path to Germany last year was the Balkan route via Austria, but as border controls have been tightened, more people are travelling via the Mediterranean and Italy.
German federal police in Berlin as saying they caught 3,385 illegal immigrants from Switzerland so far this year, up 40 percent from a year ago.
Germany's interior ministry confirmed that federal police were deployed at the Swiss border to detain and expel people who violate entry requirements and do not seek formal protection.
The numbers of such people has been increasing over the last few months and are in the low- to mid-double digits a day, a spokesman said by email, adding: "The development is related to the still significant Mediterranean route to Italy."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity has suffered in the wake of the attacks and 52 percent of Germans think her migrant policy is bad, a poll published this month showed.
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