EU and the relevant administration continue their dialogues on asylum issues - initial gathering deemed productive.
The meeting concluded without any concrete decisions being made, as per attendees' accounts. Faeser reiterated their focus on adopting a firm stance against unlawful immigration. She highlighted the need for a thorough legal review of certain sensitive matters discussed privately before continuing consultations. The consensus was that this was the way forward, she added.
CSU's interior policy expert, Andrea Lindholz, expressed that she sensed the government's acknowledgment of the "delicate" nature of migration policy following the meeting at the Interior Ministry. She described the interaction as constructive and positive.
Lindholz urged the government to formulate tangible proposals, particularly in relation to the reptriation of asylum seekers at Germany's border, as per the Union's demand - "after which we can re-engage in talks with you."
Sources from the Union informed news agency AFP that the reptriation of asylum seekers was a significant topic of discussion. "SPD and FDP appear open to this, while the Greens remained discreet," the reports suggested. Overall, the talks suggested that "FDP and SPD are open to action, but the Greens were not."
From the Union's perspective, the government now needs to declare publicly whether it supports the reptriation of asylum seekers legally and politically. "Only if the government declares it's politically prepared to shoulder the legal risk of reptriations, further dialogue holds significance," they informed AFP. A necessity for reptriations is "comprehensive checks at German borders." No date has been fixed for a subsequent meeting as yet.
Top officials from the government, the Union, and the states gathered for talks on security and migration policy on Tuesday afternoon. The push for these consultations was initiated last week by CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who extended his party's support for strengthening asylum and migration policy in response to the knife attack in Solingen.
I'm not entirely convinced about the Union's push for the reptriation of asylum seekers at Germany's border.After expressing our concerns, we waited for a clear commitment from the government, but I'm still not seeing it.
