Refugee debate in the Bundestag: initially no admission of children

Given the catastrophic conditions in Greece, should Germany accept refugee children? Interior Minister Seehofer is no longer entirely against it. The Bundestag, however, rejected it.

By Alfred Schmit, ARD Capital Studio

The parliamentary groups in the Bundestag agreed that the situation of refugees in Greek camps is currently very bad. However, they disagreed about how quick and good remedies can look here. The Greens have called for the readiness of numerous German cities and municipalities to take advantage of the 5,000 who are particularly vulnerable – i.e. unaccompanied children, pregnant women, women traveling alone or severely traumatized people.

For the Green Group, Luise Amtsberg supported this request by pointing to the poor conditions for the refugees: “This is not yet the big European and refugee policy move, but simply a humanitarian emergency measure. And it is by no means a departure from EU law , because the Dublin regulation still in force provides exactly that: Humanitarian scope when it becomes necessary. “

Socialists vote against, although many are in favor

Refugee children need special protection, emphasized Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). He used his right to speak in the Bundestag to confirm that he had approached Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer after a trip to Greek refugee camps – with the request to act here: “It is not about an admission program that immediately and unchecked is linked to a residence status Rather, it is about using the Dublin mechanism to carry out the asylum procedure for a few hundred children in Germany, that is, in a protected area. “

However, the SPD voted against the Greens’ proposal at the end of the debate, although a number of its MPs were in favor of it. Group deputy Eva Högl accused the Greens of acting from party tactics. A European solution is not far, France, Portugal and Finland were ready for it. “This is a good basis in Europe to continue working on it. That is why we explicitly disagree with the Greens’ proposal. Because there is a lot of right information, it doesn’t help at all in this situation to decide on this proposal,” said Högl. “We reject this serious issue, which is about the suffering and need of people, to let us vote by name with tactical games in the Bundestag.”

European solution in sight

The SPD thus maintained an agreement in the coalition agreement, according to which the Union and the SPD should vote uniformly in the Bundestag. For the CDU, Detlef Seif emphasized that German solo efforts are not a good idea. Whoever wants to bring the partner countries around a table should not rush forward: “If Germany now goes it alone, how are we going to take along other Member States that say: ‘Ultimately, the Germans are prepared to bear the main burdens. So why should we do it at all? support a common European asylum system? ‘”

For the FDP, Benjamin Strasser called for a joint summit of the EU countries, also to support Greece in the face of new refugee movements. AfD MP Marc Bernhard received outraged interjections when he argued that a further admission of refugees would exacerbate the housing shortage in Germany.

Personal statements by many MPs

Afterwards, Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki tried to smooth the waves: “I understand that there is a lot of emotion involved in this debate, but I ask for moderation – that you listen, even if it is difficult.”

In the end, the Greens’ proposal received only 117 votes in favor, 495 MPs opposed it, with five abstentions. Several SPD MPs made a personal statement saying, “I am for the admission of refugees within the framework of a European coalition of reason.” Only in this way can those affected be given comprehensive help. However, approval of the Greens’ proposal would not achieve this.

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