The governments of Denmark and Germany have announced that they plan to uphold existing border checks along their shared border for the time being. They might also work together on plans to open return hubs outside the European Union.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the border checks implemented on the German-Danish border in recent months were a success.
"For us, border controls play an important role in curbing illegal migration," Dobrindt said after holding talks with Denmark's minister for migration and integration, Morten Bodskov.
Dobrindt added that German police had successfully stopped people smugglers along the border since the introduction of the measure, even though the rate of irregular migration from northern Germany into southern Denmark remains low.
Bodskov meanwhile commented that Denmark agreed that temporary border controls were still needed.
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Shared views on EU return hubs
Dobrindt and Bodskov also commented on plans to establish so-called "return hubs" outside the EU, which were green-lit by Brussels last month.
Under the plan, EU member states will be allowed — either individually or as part of a joined initiative — to send migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected but who cannot be deported to their home countries to third countries outside the bloc.
This would mainly affect individuals whose countries of origin do not have return deals with the EU.
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Dobrindt highlighted that Greece, the Netherlands and Austria had expressed an interest in joining Germany's initiative to launch return hubs by the beginning of next year; though Denmark has also shown interest in the idea, it is unclear whether Copenhagen is likely to join the return-hub push by the four countries — or whether it might go it alone.
Both Dobrindt and Bodskov however stressed that they remained confident that a deal will be reached with a third country that is willing to host such a return hub within the coming months.
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Two years of border checks
Germany and Denmark have increasingly been aligning their border policies since German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government took over in May 2025. However, border controls between the two neighboring states precede the change of government in Berlin.
Germany had already introduced additional checks at the border with Denmark under the previous government in 2024; this followed Denmark's initiative to establish border controls on the border with Germany earlier.
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Both countries belong to the EU's Schengen area, where the movement of goods and people is intended to be free; however, checks and stops can be implemented under extraordinary circumstances, such as during heightened migratory pressures. They are meant to be implemented for not longer than six months, but it is possible to extend these measures, which is what some EU countries have been doing for several years.
Both nations have extended the temporary measure several times now despite growing objection from the European Union.
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with dpa