Berlin (dts) - The President of the Wholesale and Foreign Trade Association, Dirk Jandura, has warned against excessive security measures such as border closures during the European Football Championship, despite the high threat of Islamist terrorism. “I would like the traffic light parties not to fall into populism and activism in view of an apparently increased risk situation,” Jandura told the “Handelsblatt” (Tuesday edition).
Truck traffic jams at the borders would be “a real nightmare for the supply chain and thus for the supply of the population and the economy”. In addition, border controls or closures do not offer reliable protection against terror.
The Federal Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association (DSLV) also expressed skepticism about a corresponding initiative from the SPD. DSLV Managing Director Frank Huster said: “The unhindered cross-border movement of goods in the EU is vital for the European economy.” Of course, security has priority. However, it is important that no significant supply chain disruptions occur.
The Greens share the concerns of business. “I think comprehensive border closures during the entire European Championship are nonsense,” said the Green Party chairman in the Bundestag’s Interior Committee, Marcel Emmerich, to the “Handelsblatt”. The ongoing border controls are “repeatedly a major nuisance” for the economy and the people in the affected regions. Therefore, the burdens during the EM should be within a “proportionate range”.
