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German police union differs with gov't over longer border controls

Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

A further extension of German border controls cannot be implemented, said deputy head of the German police union (GDP) Joerg Radek to German media on Friday.

The personnel strength lasts only three weeks, he told German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung, adding the German federal police had arrived at their maximum load.

According to Radek, 2,000 federal police officers have been securing the German-Austrian border since mid-September.

They had accumulated 2 million hours of overtime, which corresponds to an equivalent of 1,100 operational forces, Radek said.

The federal police could barely cope with other tasks, such as protecting airports and train stations or safeguarding football matches, he added.

However, Germany's interior ministry rejected complaints from the GDP on Friday, saying prolonged border controls were very well feasible.

German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere announced on Wednesday that the government would continue to extend controls at the German-Austrian border, which had been limited until mid-February, for an indefinite period. Endit