Germany extends border controls in face of refugee influx

Reuters
Migrants queue in the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs (LAGESO) as they wait to register in Berlin, Germany, October 12, 2015. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has extended controls along its borders until the end of October as refugees continue to stream in, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. Members of Europe's 26-nation 'Schengen zone' normally allow travelers to cross frontiers without passport checks, but governments can reintroduce controls in special circumstances for a maximum of two months. A record number of migrants, many of them fleeing conflict in the Middle East, are arriving in Germany. The government expects 800,000 new arrivals this year, but Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has said more than a million will come. Germany introduced controls along its borders with Austria and the Czech Republic on Sept. 13 for an initial 10 days, and Tuesday's announcement marks the second time it has extended them. "The aim of this measure remains to limit the almost uninterrupted inflow of members of third countries to Germany and to return to an orderly procedure for entry into the country," interior ministry spokesman Harald Neymanns said. "That's also necessary for security reasons." He said the measure would focus on Germany's border with Austria. (Reporting by Thorsten Severin; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)