The German government has announced further tightening of asylum policy. In addition to expanding border controls, Interior Minister Faeser wants to increase the number of rejections. Conflicts with neighboring countries are likely to be inevitable.
Hansjörg Friedrich Müller, Berlin / ch media
Since the attack in Solingen a good two weeks ago, but at the latest since the Saxon and Thuringian state elections on September 1, political Berlin has given a startled impression: renewed Islamist terror and further electoral successes of the AfD seem to be prompting the government to take action on asylum policy.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser speaking to journalists in Berlin on Monday.Bild: keystone
At the same time, measures are suddenly being proposed that the traffic light coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP had long resisted. On Monday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced a further tightening of the measures: border controls with all neighboring countries, which are to begin at the beginning of next week. This is a temporary measure, initially limited to six months, which should apply until the EU’s external borders are effectively protected again, said the Social Democrat.
Critics point to legal hurdles
In the south and east of Germany, at the borders with Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic, controls have been in place since October 2023; at the border with Austria since September 2015, and at the border with Denmark since 2016. A total of 30,000 people have been turned away at German borders since October last year, said Faeser.
Even though there are already controls at the German-Swiss border, things could soon change there too, as the German Interior Minister is aiming for “harder” or “more effective” rejections. Faeser announced on Monday that she would discuss how this could be achieved with the governments of the German federal states and the opposition Union parties on Tuesday.
The German government is likely to see scope for action, particularly for those wishing to enter the country who have already been registered as asylum seekers elsewhere in Europe. Until now, border guards were only allowed to turn away those who did not apply for asylum at the border or who attempted to re-enter Germany despite an entry ban.
The German border guards are to take tougher action in the future. (Picture: Two border police officers at the German border with Poland in Görlitz.)Bild: keystone
Berlin will probably have to change this if it wants to further increase the number of rejections. However, critics point to legal obstacles: the Dublin III agreement stipulates that every asylum application must be examined in detail – even if the person concerned has already applied for asylum in another country.
Vienna already announces resistance
If Germany does indeed reject more people, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic could be among those who suffer. These countries currently take in a relatively large number of migrants whose actual destination is Germany.
If Germany soon takes a tougher course, its direct neighbouring countries could be forced to turn away more people seeking entry, thereby increasing the pressure on countries such as Greece, Italy or Bulgaria, where most asylum migrants first set foot on EU soil.
Whether the Germans would succeed in forcing more effective protection of the EU’s external borders or whether they would simply drive the entire system towards collapse is another matter: conflicts within Europe could be inevitable.
Vienna has already announced its opposition to additional German rejections. His country will not accept anyone who is rejected from Germany, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told the “Bild” newspaper on Monday. The ÖVP politician explained that he had already given the police the relevant instructions. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
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