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Switzerland says pushbacks at border by Germany are unlawful

Berne: systematic German rejections against the law
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans would like to meet with the new German interior minister to discuss border crossings. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland considers Germany's planned systematic pushbacks at the border to be contrary to existing law. Bern regrets that Berlin has taken these measures without first going through a consultation process.

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The Swiss authorities are monitoring the consequences and considering possible action, the Federal Department of Justice and Police wrote on X on Wednesday. Bern expects that the cross-border movement of people and goods will not be hindered by the pushbacks.

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“Citizens of both countries must be able to continue to cross the border freely on their way to work,” the department said. Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans has proposed a meeting at the ministerial level, but has not yet received a response.

Germany’s new interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, wants to curb illegal immigration by increasing the number of police officers at Germany’s land borders and tightening the rules. A few hours after taking office, Dobrindt announced that in future asylum-seekers could also be turned back at the border.

Translated from Italian with DeepL/gw

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