Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Simon Young
00:33 Marzena Slodownik | Slubice Mayor
01:12 Claus Junghanns | Acting Mayor, Frankfurt an der Oder
02:13 Marzena Slodownik | Slubice Mayor

Script:

The placid river Oder that separates Poland and Germany.  

Looking across from Slubice on the Polish side, 
the skyline of the German city of Frankfurt/Oder is very near.

But from Monday - the traffic over the bridge INTO Poland has been moving especially slowly:

that's because of increased checks on vehicles and people crossing from Germany.

The Polish government says the measure is a response to illegal migration.

But the mayor of Slubice sounds unhappy about the move:

SOT Marzena Słodownik, Mayor of Slubice

"We live in one city - two cities, connected by a river. And in fact the bridge is not a bridge that divides two countries. This is a bridge that is our communication route, thanks to which we can move."

At this and more than a dozen other border crossing points between the two countries,
Polish border guards and police are picking out vehicles to stop.

Those who want to cross need an identity card or a passport.

The tougher checks follow similar measures on the German side. 

And many Germans who travel regularly to Poland are concerned that will become even more difficult.

SOT Claus Junghanns, Acting Mayor of Frankfurt (Oder)

"Of course, it is a restriction of our everyday lives because there have been border controls here on the German side for a year and a half , and now also from the Polish side as of today. We will feel it, we are already feeling it."

((Es ist für uns natürlich eine Einschränkung des alltäglichen Lebens dadurch, dass es jetzt seit anderthalb Jahren hier Grenzkontrollen auf der deutschen Seite gibt, jetzt seit heute auch von der polnischen Seite, werden wir das spüren, wir spüren es auch jetzt schon.))

Some asylum seekers have been refused entry by German authorities. 
A sensitive issue in Poland - where right-wing activists have been 
spreading the rumor that Germany is using its neighbour 
as a dumping ground for rejected asylum-seekers.

For now, Polish reactions to the checks are mixed.

VOX POPs
-"What's happening on the streets of Berlin, or other European cities, we don't want that here, that's a fact."

-"I see, of course, that now there are more people from countries that are further away, but I don't feel it as a threat to me personally."

-"To us it looks like a politically controlled setup. We believe these checks do not bring any real impact."

SOT Mayor of Slubice, Marzena Słodownik

"I understand that we have to watch over migration, that we have to control it. But as Poles, as Germans, as Europeans, we have to find solutions that will be systemic for the entire European Union - so that we do not weaken ourselves."

Even here in the twin cities on the river Oder 
where the idea of Europe's open borders is especially important

many on both sides worry
that a new era of separation is beginning.