Recently, German authorities have been accused of mass returning migrants from Africa and the Middle East into Poland. These alleged “pushbacks” have strained diplomatic relations and raised significant legal and humanitarian concerns across Central and Eastern Europe. According to reports, over 11,000 migrants—many lacking proper documentation—were returned to Poland in the past 14 months, a figure far exceeding official tallies from 2024, which recorded around 570 returns.
A Berlin court recently ruled that Germany’s practice of summarily expelling asylum seekers who arrived via Poland violated EU law and the so-called Dublin Regulation. The court’s decision focused on specific cases, such as three Somali nationals denied entry after crossing into Germany, mandating that asylum procedures must be properly initiated rather than executed through immediate turnbacks. Both Germany and Poland continue to disagree. While Berlin maintains it respects EU regulations and considers these migrants to have come through a “safe third country,” Warsaw has formally rejected the idea of taking in such returns as a “mass transfer,” with Prime Minister Donald Tusk stating that “Poland will not accept anyone sending illegal migrants to its territory”.
Within Central and Eastern Europe, the issue has provoked strong reactions. Poland’s government is reportedly considering introducing partial border controls along the German frontier this summer if migrant returns persist. Meanwhile, civil society groups are alarmed by the potential human rights violations inherent in pushbacks and the lack of full access to asylum procedures. These developments spotlight how Germany’s internal migration policy is spilling over into its neighbors, challenging Schengen principles and exposing gaps in the EU’s common asylum framework.
As this dispute unfolds, it highlights broader questions for Central and Eastern Europe: the effectiveness of readmission agreements, the respect for EU-wide obligation-sharing, and the need for a coherent regional dialogue under mechanisms like the Prague Process and the forthcoming EU Migration Pact taking effect in June 2026.
The growing pressure at the Poland–Germany border illustrates the fragility of intra‑EU solidarity when confronted with migration spikes. For Central and Eastern European countries that historically bear disproportionate responsibility in the EU asylum chain, Germany’s unilateral return tactics may act as a catalyst prompting renewed debate over how best to share burdens, respect legal standards, and protect vulnerable migrants within the European Union.
