Germany will likely maintain temporary border controls along its borders with the Czech Republic and Poland beyond March when the temporary measures are set to expire, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday in Prague.
Germany imposed checks on its borders with the two countries in September to block the rising numbers of asylum seekers entering the country.
The borders between the countries, which are all members of the Schengen free movement area and the European Union, are normally lightly patrolled with no checkpoints and only occasional random checks.
Faeser, speaking after a meeting with Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan, said that the number of migrants entering Germany has fallen.
"However, we still have very high asylum numbers, and in this respect, we believe that we will probably have to extend border controls again at the next review in March," she said.
Rakušan expressed understanding for the likely decision but called for renewed talks about loosening the border controls and a return to an open Schengen area.
He appealed for "democratic politicians" not to get used to the current temporary arrangements. The controls are currently registered with the EU until March 15.
Germany reintroduced controls along the Austrian border in 2016 on a temporary basis but has repeatedly extended the measures since then.
