2024-03-10 19:01:15
Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with the state leaders in a crisis discussion on migration. There was then a hail of criticism from Union-led countries.
Under the pressure of persistently high numbers of asylum seekers, the prime ministers of the federal states met for a meeting on Wednesday, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also took part in the meeting for two hours. Before the meeting, the CDU state leaders in particular expressed massive criticism: they criticized the resolutions of the federal-state meeting in November to limit irregular migration, they criticized. They also made further demands.
At a press conference with Scholz after the meeting, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) and Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU), however, were largely satisfied with the traffic light’s migration policy. In their speech in Berlin, they emphasized commonalities in asylum policy, but demanded that we continue to work on implementing the measures consistently and quickly. Here you can read more about it.
Video | The federal and state governments praise far-reaching asylum decisions
After the crisis talks between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, other heads of government are also insisting on speed – especially in the Union-led countries. From there it is said that other country leaders are not nearly as happy as Rhine.
Söder criticizes the results of the conference: “That’s not enough”
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wrote on the social network X: “That’s not enough.” The Prime Minister’s Conference was again just an inventory and did not bring anything new. “We finally need a fundamental change Migration policy in Germany. States and municipalities are overwhelmed – and the traffic light is not doing enough about it,” said Söder.
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CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt accused the federal government of preventing effective measures to limit immigration to Germany. “The federal government continues to ignore the seriousness of the migration situation,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. Dobrindt called for a third country model to be implemented quickly. “The federal government must not continue to refuse,” said Dobrindt.
Together with Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), Bavaria made a protocol statement in the decision of the Prime Minister’s Conference in which they accused the federal government of refusing to make a change in migration policy for “ideological reasons”. The promised measures were only implemented hesitantly or inadequately. “With this half-heartedness, the number of accesses will hardly decrease in the summer,” it continues. Measures must be taken immediately against unlimited irregular migration. You can read more about which projects the federal government has already implemented so far and where there are still problems here.
Wüst: “In a situation like this, leadership is needed”
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) is also not satisfied with the results of the federal-state conference on asylum policy. “Migration policy requires speed rather than time,” he said. 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. In their decision on Wednesday, the states set a deadline for the federal government to examine the examination of asylum procedures in third countries. Here you can read more about it.
Germany is facing major challenges. This particularly includes the question of migration and integration. “In a situation like this, leadership is needed,” emphasized the head of government of the most populous federal state. “We expect the Chancellor to make this issue a top priority,” said Wüst.
Wegner expects “more speed”
Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) also criticized: “Last year, the total number of asylum seekers across Europe exceeded the million mark.” It is therefore important that the federal and state governments work together to develop effective measures across party lines and implement them resolutely and consistently. “I expect more speed from all of us here.”
“Irregular migration must be limited effectively and sustainably,” continued Wegner. “The federal and state governments continue to have a shared responsibility here,” he said. “Berlin and other metropolitan areas in particular are reaching actual limits when it comes to accommodation, but also school and daycare places and in many other places.” This pressure is not going away.