On 12 March, the Czech Minister of the Interior and the German Federal Minister of the Interior met in Berlin. They signed the Treaty between the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany on Common State Borders. The new agreement will facilitate border management and simplify the functioning of the Joint Border Commission. The treaty will replace a similar, technically outdated, treaty from 1994 and the Treaty on the Border Documentary Work of Common State Borders from 1999.
The reason for negotiating the new treaty, which replaces the outdated treaties from the 1990s, is primarily a change in the method of determining state borders with regard to technological developments in the field of determining location. Now, the course of state borders on immovable sections will be determined only by an unchanging list of coordinates of border points, not by a comprehensive border documentary work. In both states, this is a treaty of the highest, presidential, category, which will be discussed by parliament after signing and subsequently ratified by the president.
The Czech Minister informed his German colleagues about the active steps of the Czech government in the area of asylum and migration, including the latest proposals to tighten asylum and return policies. These will, among other things, bring faster deportations of illegally staying foreigners, tighter checks on the residence of applicants, and stricter security screening (details here ). The current approach of the Czech government is that the current migration and security situation requires a deepening reform of European migration policy. Accordingly, the Czech Republic welcomes the fact that the new German government is also planning a stricter approach in this area, and is ready to cooperate very actively with Germany in this effort.
According to the Czech Minister, it is also necessary to maintain excellent regional cooperation and the smooth cross-border movement of goods. He therefore stated that the Czech side would welcome knowledge of Germany's tightening measures in advance, so that these steps could be closely coordinated and implemented throughout the region, depending on the situation.
The Minister also appreciated that the Czech Republic, together with Germany, Poland and the European Commission, is thoroughly preparing for all scenarios that may arise in connection with the Russian war in Ukraine.