German industries are concerned about border checks causing delays and higher costs, calling for policies like green lanes to ease the impact on trade and workers.
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00:00Germany's business groups are raising the alarm over fears of how the country's extra
00:09border controls could impact the economy.
00:12The country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry says that companies are experiencing delays,
00:17which is especially a problem for time-sensitive goods like food.
00:22But it's not just the movement of products that is of concern, but of people as well.
00:28The Chamber of Commerce in Frankfurt-Oder, a border town next to Poland, is advocating
00:32for workers coming into Germany to be able to pass through the checks more quickly, such
00:38as with special certificates given by the government.
00:41We experience that our enterprises we have in our region have problems commuting, regarding
00:48the commuting, also regarding the traffic of goods between the borders, and especially
00:58with the workforce that Germany relies on in specific economic areas.
01:04We have to have those commuters and we cannot lose them because we need them.
01:10A national association that works on the movement of freight and logistics told Euronews that
01:15it was especially concerned whether other European countries would bring back border
01:19checks as well.
01:20It said the return of barriers to Europe would be disastrous for the internal markets.
01:26The Interior Ministry says the checks are meant to decrease irregular migration and
01:32stop criminals.
01:33It says it wants to ensure the measures affect commuters and businesses as little as possible.
01:40The credit insurer Allianz Trade said expected delays could decrease trade and increase
01:45the risk of a recession.
01:48A group representing Germany's transport industry says the checks could end up increasing costs
01:53for companies, leading to higher prices for consumers.
01:58There could be traffic jams or there could be delays which will increase the cost for
02:02our truck companies and they will have problems with driving and rest time and they have to
02:08get higher prices for the transport solution and this is really a big problem.
02:14The association says if such delays happen, it will lobby the European Commission to set
02:20up special lanes so that most trucks can bypass the controls and to focus on tougher external
02:27border checks.