Germany notified the EU last month it was restoring border checks at its southern and eastern frontiers. Reuters
Germany notified the EU last month it was restoring border checks at its southern and eastern frontiers. Reuters
Germany notified the EU last month it was restoring border checks at its southern and eastern frontiers. Reuters
Germany notified the EU last month it was restoring border checks at its southern and eastern frontiers. Reuters

World

Europe

Germany's new Schengen border checks ease migration crisis

Leaked figures reveal 40% drop in illegal entries from Austria, Switzerland, Poland and Czech Republic

Tim Stickings
Tim Stickings

November 27, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

The return of border checks within Europe’s normally free-flowing Schengen zone has been credited with easing a migration crisis in Germany.

Leaked police figures say the number of illegal crossings fell by 40 per cent in the 30 days after Germany notified the EU it was restoring border controls.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser ordered the checks at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland to stem almost daily reports of people smuggling.

The border with Austria has also been more tightly guarded for months amid pressure on ministers to cut the numbers of people arriving illegally in German towns and cities.

In the 30 days to October 16, police counted 18,492 illegal entries from those four countries. That figure fell to 11,029 in the 30 days afterwards, according to the statistics obtained by newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

The leaked analysis showed a particularly sharp drop at the Polish border, where crossings fell from 6,411 to 2,795. Federal police are quoted saying the border checks were one of several factors contributing to the decline.

  • People queue for lunch at the initial reception centre for migrants and refugees in Eisenhuettenstadt, Germany. Getty Images
    People queue for lunch at the initial reception centre for migrants and refugees in Eisenhuettenstadt, Germany. Getty Images
  • German police check vehicles arriving from Poland at a temporary border checkpoint in Frankfurt. Getty Images
    German police check vehicles arriving from Poland at a temporary border checkpoint in Frankfurt. Getty Images
  • Yazidi men on hunger strike outside the Reichstag in Berlin in an effort to prevent their deportation to Iraq. Getty Images
    Yazidi men on hunger strike outside the Reichstag in Berlin in an effort to prevent their deportation to Iraq. Getty Images
  • A police officer speaks to migrants who have illegally crossed the border from Poland into Germany, in a forest near Forst, south-east of Berlin. AP
    A police officer speaks to migrants who have illegally crossed the border from Poland into Germany, in a forest near Forst, south-east of Berlin. AP
  • An employee offers advice to a man from Syria at a shelter for migrants and refugees inside a hangar at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin. Getty Images
    An employee offers advice to a man from Syria at a shelter for migrants and refugees inside a hangar at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin. Getty Images
  • Two young men from Afghanistan in Tempelhof. Getty Images
    Two young men from Afghanistan in Tempelhof. Getty Images
  • A hostess at a stand of the Edeka grocery shop chain speaks to potential applicants at a job fair for migrants and refugees in Berlin. Getty Images
    A hostess at a stand of the Edeka grocery shop chain speaks to potential applicants at a job fair for migrants and refugees in Berlin. Getty Images
  • Police searching for illegal immigrants stop cars and vans at a checkpoint not far from the Polish border, near Cottbus. Getty Images
    Police searching for illegal immigrants stop cars and vans at a checkpoint not far from the Polish border, near Cottbus. Getty Images

Germany’s border police have been instructed to carry out random inspections, set up mobile checkpoints and vary their location to keep traffickers on their toes. Authorities have also reported a rise in successful manhunts for wanted people smugglers.

Members of the Schengen zone are allowed to bring in temporary border checks if there is a “serious threat to public policy or internal security”. Several countries including Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia also have controls in place.

Ms Faeser has repeatedly said the Schengen zone is in danger if Europe cannot get a grip on people smuggling, with fears over immigration fuelling a rise of far-right parties.

Germany’s three-party government has plans to step up deportations of failed asylum seekers and suspected members of criminal gangs, while also making it easier for legal arrivals to obtain a passport.

Under pressure from state governments, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to explore the option of processing asylum claims overseas, an option similar to Britain’s stalled Rwanda scheme.

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Key Points
  • Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Indika
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The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

While you're here
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Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

On Women's Day
Updated: November 27, 2023, 10:20 AM
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