2024-03-10 04:22:09
In November, after a tough struggle, the federal and state governments agreed on a package of measures to curb irregular migration. Four months later, they are overall satisfied with the implementation.
The states are demanding clarity from the federal government about a possible relocation of asylum procedures to countries outside the EU. In a resolution published after their discussions with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the 16 state leaders ask the traffic light government in Berlin to present initial results at the next federal-state conference on June 20th.
According to the will of the federal states, it will soon be clear when the payment card for asylum seekers that was agreed upon at the time will be available. It is intended to partially replace cash payments and thus prevent refugees from transferring money to their home countries. In the joint resolution, the heads of government of the federal states call on the federal government to ensure that the Bundestag quickly adopts a corresponding draft.
Scholz: “Always stay on topic”
Scholz (SPD) and the incumbent chairmen of the Prime Minister’s Conference, Hesse’s Boris Rhein (CDU) and his Lower Saxony deputy Stephan Weil (SPD), drew a positive interim assessment of the implementation of their decisions four months after the migration summit in November. The Chancellor emphasized that “fundamental changes have been initiated” in recent months. When it comes to limiting irregular migration, we shouldn’t just sit back and relax, but we must “always stick to the issue.”
However, the Prime Ministers of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Markus Söder (CSU), were dissatisfied. “That’s not enough: today’s MPK was just an inventory and didn’t bring anything new,” said Söder. Bavaria and Saxony demanded in a joint protocol note that newly arriving Ukrainian refugees should in future receive the normal benefits for asylum seekers instead of citizen’s benefit. “With this half-heartedness, the number of accesses will hardly decrease in the summer,” the note continued. Hesse called for countries with a recognition rate of less than five percent to be declared safe countries of origin. Thuringia took a stand against “asylum camps at Europe’s external borders”.
Wüst calls for more speed
Wüst said: “Migration policy requires speed rather than time.” The CDU politician complained that progress was only progressing at a snail’s pace, especially when it came to the issue of asylum procedures in third countries. The federal government had already anchored a corresponding audit mandate in its coalition agreement in 2021. “Nothing happened,” criticized Wüst.
At the refugee summit in November, the federal government promised another review. Corresponding models are also being discussed in other European countries. Last year, Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with Albania to set up two centers in Albania to receive migrants rescued in the Mediterranean. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) believes such a shift in asylum procedures is generally possible, but only under strict conditions.
Weil expresses legal concerns about the upper limit for asylum seekers
In the debate about an upper limit for asylum seekers, very different perspectives became clear. Hesse’s Prime Minister Rhein called the discussion legitimate as chairman of the state conference. The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Weil, does not consider an upper limit to be realistic for constitutional reasons. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) recently mentioned “50,000 or 60,000 refugees per year” as a possible limit.
“As a goal you can talk about anything,” said Weil. However, fundamental legal changes would be necessary for an upper limit, not only in Germany, but also the Geneva Refugee Convention.
Rhein calls for realism when it comes to curbing immigration
Weil was also skeptical about a rapid decline in the number of asylum seekers. “Nobody should expect our decisions to immediately flip the switch,” he said. Rhein also said that one had to “remain realistic.”
In Germany, around 329,000 people made an initial application for asylum last year – around 50 percent more than in 2022. The more than one million refugees from Ukraine who came to Germany since the start of the war at the end of February 2022 are not included in this because they do not have any have to apply for asylum. Many municipalities are now overwhelmed with accommodation.
In January of this year, almost 26,400 initial asylum applications were counted. Extrapolated to the year as a whole, this would result in a similar number to 2023. However, this does not take into account the fact that more refugees usually come in spring, summer and autumn than in winter.
Some points of contention were resolved before the meeting
To counteract this, the federal and state governments agreed on a package of measures in November. It included a per capita flat rate from the federal government as an additional contribution to the asylum costs: 7,500 euros per year for everyone who applies for asylum in Germany for the first time. So that the first advance payment to the states of 1.75 billion euros for 2024 can be made in the first half of the year, the federal government wants to soon present a draft law to amend the Financial Equalization Act.
The leader of the Green Party parliamentary group, Katharina Dröge, said it was regrettable that the prime ministers did not focus on the economic situation in Germany at their meeting. After all, heads of government from various parties have already publicly spoken out in favor of urgently needed investments and a modernization of the debt brake. There is a need for solidarity with the countries – “for investments, a sustainable economy and a country that simply functions.”