The decision was announced on Friday, 15 December, by the German Ministry of the Interior. The controls are intended to counter crime related to migrant smuggling and limit irregular migration.
The Deutsche Welle service reported:
Our measures are producing results, said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. Thanks to the temporary border controls and measures carried out in cooperation with neighbouring countries, the number of irregular border crossings across the country fell by more than 60 percent, from over 20,000 in October to approximately 7,300 irregular crossings in November. During the checks, the federal police arrested around 340 smugglers.