SLUBICE, Poland — Poland reinstated border controls on Monday with Germany and Lithuania following similar German restrictions imposed earlier this year aimed at discouraging asylum-seekers.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government recently survived a confidence vote in parliament, announced the restrictions last week. Pressure has been mounting after far-right groups in Poland have alleged Germany was transporting migrants into Polish territory after they reached Western Europe.
The reinstated controls, which began overnight Sunday, will last for an initial period of 30 days, though authorities have not ruled out extending them, according to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.
''Illegal migration is simply a crime,'' Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Sunday during a news conference.
The Polish border with Lithuania, which stretches 104 kilometers (65 miles), will see checks in 13 locations. Poland's border with Germany, 467 kilometers (290 miles) long, will have controls at 52 crossing points.
Lithuanian authorities said on Monday they were ready to deal with possible traffic jams at the Polish border.
''If traffic begins to build up, we will start managing the flow ... to minimize disruptions and keep checks as brief as possible,'' Antanas Montvydas, deputy head of Lithuania's State Border Guard Service told Lithuania radio.
After taking office in May, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who made a tougher migration policy a pillar of his election campaign, ordered more police at the border and said some asylum-seekers trying to enter Europe's biggest economy would be turned away.
