Border controls on the Oder: legal, political and humanitarian challenges

Research Factory B/ORDERS IN MOTION

Panel Discussion was held on 17 of July in Senate Hall of the Viadrina in German and broadcast online with simultaneous translation into English and Spanish.

Panel guests:

• Dr Marcus Engler, Lea Christinck (Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung DeZIM)
• Dr Norbert Cyrus (Viadrina Center B/ORDERS IN MOTION)
• Prof. Dr Claudia M. Hofmann (Chair of Public Law and European Social Law with a focus on interdisciplinary social law research, EUV)
• Dr Anja Hennig (Professorship of Comparative Politics, EUV)

Moderation: Prof. Dr Kira Kosnick (Viadrina Center B/ORDERS IN MOTION)

Two federal governments have introduced controls at Germany's external borders in several stages since autumn 2023. On 7 May 2025, the federal police were instructed to also turn back asylum seekers. The Berlin Administrative Court ruled that the refoulement of three refugees at the German-Polish border was unlawful in a decision on 2 June 2025. The situation in Frankfurt (Oder), where two stationary border checkpoints were set up, is the focus of public attention. Here, the three asylum seekers, whose refoulement was judged to be unlawful, had tried in vain to apply for asylum. In the meantime, the Polish government has also announced the temporary introduction of controls at the border with Germany and Lithuania from 7 July 2025.

The panel discussion contextualized these developments and measured, particularly with regard to the rule of law and proportionality. Statements on the effectiveness of internal border controls as a means of reducing irregular entries and smuggling were examined and contrasted with the negative effects on the border region, refugee protection and German-Polish relations

Panel guests were Dr Marcus Engler, Lea Christinck and Dr Norbert Cyrus, who have presented a current expert opinion on the effects of EU-internal border controls, as well as Prof. Dr Claudia M. Hofmann, European and social law expert at Viadrina, and Dr Anja Hennig, specialist for German-Polish relations.

The event offered space for a fact-based, scientifically sound debate on the consequences, challenges and perspectives of current border and migration policy.

The event was organised by the Viadrina Center B/ORDERS IN MOTION in cooperation with the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) and the Viadrina Institute for European Studies (IFES).