Frankfurt an der Oder and Slovice are more than just sister cities. One on the German side of the Oder River, the other on the Polish side, they are separated by just 200 metres of a bridge that can be crossed in five minutes on foot. In practice, in everyday life, they are the same city. That is the case for Marion Schmidt, 66, a recent retiree, who describes how, despite living on the German side, she does her weekly shopping and goes out to dinner on the Polish side. “It is much cheaper and the quality is very good, even better than here,” she says enthusiastically at a stop during her daily walk along the banks of the Oder.
Employees who live in one country and work in the other; companies that operate interchangeably on either side of the border; children who go to school on the other side… Daily life in this cross-border city embodies, like few others, the spirit of Schengen, the treaty that enshrined the free movement of people and goods between the 27 member states. Until a few months ago, the border here was little more than a line drawn on a map. Now there are obstacles. Germany decided in October last year to install controls on its eastern borders to curb irregular migration. On Monday, it extended them to all nine of its borders, in a move that has outraged some of its neighbours and worried the entire EU, fearing that it could mortally wound one of the great pillars of European architecture.
Boris crosses the bridge into Germany with two cartons of cigarettes in his hand. “Is it cheaper? Half the price! There is a tobacco shop right after you cross the bridge. Take advantage of it,” he says, almost without stopping. He is in a hurry; his midday break at work is running out. He has time to point out that the border police, who have set up a huge white tent on the German side of the bridge, have never asked him for his papers in these months. “Those of us who cross on foot are hardly ever stopped; some cars are, and almost all buses and large vans are,” he explains.
On both sides of the Oder there are signs with the names of the two municipalities and a legend in two languages: “Without barriers, without hail”. That is, “without borders”. It was not always like this. The two cities – the Polish one with 17,000 inhabitants, the German one with 57,000 – turned their backs on each other for more than 60 years, despite having been one before World War II. After the conflict, they were separated by the Oder-Neisse line, drawn by the victors as a provisional demarcation between Poland and Germany.
“It took a lot of effort to reunite the two cities, which were separated by enemy countries in World War II, and we fear that border controls will erode that effort,” says Uwe Meier, spokesman for the city of Frankfurt an der Oder. The municipalities form a double towna double city. A theoretical concept that is translated here into close collaboration to provide common services to its inhabitants. “We share the supply of heating and several bus lines, among many other things,” explains Meier, who speaks to Morning Express in the late 13th century building that houses the town hall.
The cities also share a wastewater treatment plant and childcare facilities attended by children from both sides. “The controls make this collaboration difficult,” says Meier, who admits, however, that a large part of the citizens are in favour. Schmidt, the woman who crosses into Poland to do her shopping, agrees. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing to monitor who enters Germany and whether or not they have the right to be here,” she says. “I think we can put up with the slight inconvenience of having to identify ourselves.”
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The inspections on Monday, the first day they were active at all the country’s borders, did not slow down traffic too much. The officers randomly stopped some vehicles, asked for documentation and checked the trunks. “I don’t usually cross, but my husband does, and he gets stopped from time to time. He has dark hair and a beard, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it,” says Sonja Priebus, a professor at the European University Viadrina. “We have foreign students or those of foreign origin who say that they are often asked for documentation,” she adds.
The Federal Police have warned that the checks will not be foolproof because there are not enough personnel to cover all possible entry routes. Police unions say they can only do them sporadically and that experience on the eastern border shows that human traffickers simply cross on routes they know are not guarded. Frankfurt am Oder City Hall confirms that you only have to go a few kilometres further north or south to find roads without police presence.
The border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland have already led to the return of around 30,000 people since October 2023, according to data from the Interior Ministry. They were turned away if they did not have valid documents or did not request asylum. The conservative opposition CDU is demanding that the German government implement general rejections of all asylum seekers, something that Olaf Scholz’s coalition rejects as illegal.
“As we emphasize time and again, [los controles] “The border controls are carried out flexibly, depending on the situation, which is assessed on an ongoing basis. There are therefore no general controls. There is no federal police officer at every border crossing to stop all traffic. There are also no closed borders, as has been suggested,” a government spokeswoman explained at a regular press conference on Monday. “The borders are open and inspections are carried out, as we always do.” […] with specific registers to combat cross-border crime and further limit irregular immigration,” he added.
Some of Germany’s neighbours have openly criticised Berlin’s decision. Austria, which is holding elections at the end of the month with the far-right FPÖ party leading in the polls, immediately announced that it would not accept any migrants that Germany rejected. Poland’s liberal-conservative Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the decision a “suspension” de factoon a large scale within the Schengen area” and announced that it would begin “urgent consultations” with the other eight countries directly affected.
The fear that runs through the EU is that the floodgates opened by Germany, a country at the heart of Europe, the EU member with the most land borders, will cause a domino effect and everyone will start to reinforce their border controls. Harassed by the rise of the far right, the Scholz government justifies the measure – initially planned for six months – with migratory pressure and the risk of Islamist terrorism. The threat to Schengen is evident, and it is also felt in the double city of Frankfurt-Slubice. As soon as you cross to the Polish side, the name of the first business reminds you of what Schengen has meant for this territory: “Pizzeria Europa”.
