These are now the new realities on all of Germany’s land borders. On September 16, Berlin ordered the “temporary reintroduction of border control” at Germany’s borders with Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France and Denmark. The calls for more checks on Germany’s borders also mark a step-change at the heart of the European Union from Merkel’s policies. In 2015, the long-serving, and ever popular former German chancellor Merkel opened Germany’s borders to migrants fleeing their homes - at the time largely Syrians because of the country’s civil war. The moves by Merkel became known as Wilkommenskulturand and set Germany apart on the world stage in liberal migration policy.

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Persons: ” Slubice, “, Tom Knie, Olaf Scholz, ” –, Angela Merkel, Patrick Pleul, Bjoern Hoecke, ”, Victory, Alice Weidel, Scholz, …, ” Raphael Bossong, Merkel, Maja Hitij, Knaus, ” Knaus Organizations: CNN, German Federal, European Union, Getty, German Institute of International and Security Affairs, Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, Police, “ Locations: Frankfurt, der, “ Frankfurt, ”, Polish, German Federal Republic, Poland, Germany, Berlin, Germany’s, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Oder, Manheim, Solingen, Thuringia, East, Saxony, Brandenburg, “ Germany