Germany extends temporary border controls, says Scholz

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has extended temporary border controls for six months and informed the European Union, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday as he tries to show his government is combating irregular migration less than two weeks before an election.

Germany reintroduced border checks in September as part of a tougher stance on migration and cross-border crime after a surge of arrivals, especially from people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East.

The controls primarily target asylum seekers coming from neighbouring EU countries, who are subject to the EU's Dublin rules that require asylum applications to be processed in the first EU country of arrival.

Scholz said data showed his government's measures were working as the authorities had rejected 47,000 people at borders, asylum applications had dropped by a third in 2024 from 2023 and 1,900 smugglers had been arrested.

With the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) polling second at about 20% in most surveys and migration a top concern for voters before a February 23 election, the main parties are under pressure to show they can tackle the issue.

(Writing by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Miranda Murray)