Berlin, 18 August 2026 (dpa/MIA) - German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has officially notified the European Commission that checks at the country's external borders will be extended for six months until mid-March, a ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The spokeswoman was confirming a report in the mass-circulation Bild tabloid.

"Events at Europe's external borders show that combating illegal migration still requires border controls," Dobrindt told the newspaper.

He had previously announced the move at the end of July, when tens of thousands of migrants temporarily crossed the border from Morocco into the Spanish North African exclave of Ceuta. Almost all of them later returned.

Although borders within the EU are generally supposed to be open under the Schengen agreement, checks have been in place at all of Germany's external borders since September 2024.

Despite growing criticism, the checks have already been extended three times, most recently until mid-September 2026. If the European Commission does not object, the next six-month extension will run until mid-March 2027.

Photo: EPA