- Chancellor Scholz reveals plans for dialogues with political adversaries.
After the lethal stabbing incident in Solingen, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has scheduled talks with the federal states and the Union to discuss the repercussions. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser will promptly invite representatives from the head and co-head of the Minister Presidents' Conference, the major opposition party's leaders, and the pertinent federal ministries to confidential and targeted discussions on this issue, as per his statements after a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Berlin.
The discussions will mainly center around the expulsion of rejected asylum seekers to their native countries, countering Islamic terrorism, and gun control regulations. Suggestions from the federal states and the Union will also be examined.
Scholz: Government must further curb unlawful immigration
Despite an over 25% rise in deportations during the first half of the year compared to the previous year, Scholz stated that this is still insufficient. "Consequently, the federal government will persist in its efforts to further curb unauthorized immigration. This involves implementing new legal measures, which we are currently intensively coordinating within the federal government. These measures consist of tightening gun laws, measures against violent extremist Islam, and residence-related measures, particularly to facilitate deportations more easily," he added.
Opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) proposed collaboration with Scholz on migration policy realignment on Tuesday. He proposed assigning government and union representatives – excluding the federal states. For the Union faction, Merz intends to delegate the Parliamentary Business Manager Thorsten Frei (CDU) to the meeting.
The Federal Parliament will need to evaluate and potentially approve the new legal measures proposed by the federal government to further curb unauthorized immigration, which include tightening gun laws, measures against violent extremist Islam, and residence-related measures to facilitate deportations more easily. Following the incident in Solingen, the discussions in The Federal Parliament will also likely involve examining suggestions from the federal states and the Union regarding expulsion of rejected asylum seekers and countering Islamic terrorism.
