The Netherlands is introducing border checks on its borders with Belgium and Germany today. The checks are initially planned for a period of six months. The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee – a part of the Dutch military with police duties - said checks could be carried out on all borders, both road and rail. The Dutch government is introducing the border controls to combat migration and human-trafficking.
The Netherlands has more than 840 border crossings on major roads, but also on local roads and even forest trails. Where exactly the border checks will take place is not known. The marechaussee says it will carry out random checks ‘based on risk analysis and information’.
Dutch asylum minister Marjolein Faber is confident the border controls will work. They are not ‘symbolic’ she says. The marechaussee expects the impact on border traffic to be ‘minimal’: ‘There will be no special barriers and checks will still be carried out at random’.
More than 40 municipalities in Dutch border regions have condemned the measure, expressing concern that border traffic will no longer run smoothly.