- EU prioritizes border rejections in its strategy.
The Union prioritizes strengthening border security as the main focus in upcoming migration discussions. Union figurehead Thorsten Frei (CDU), speaking with "Bild", stated, "Deportations won't resolve the persistent migration issue. We must tackle the issue's source, and that means: rejections at the border. We'll advocate for this in asylum talks." Frei also expressed skepticism towards the intended budget reductions for 'Dublin refugees' by the coalition government, as stated in the "Rhenish Post".
Following a suspected Islamist knife attack in Solingen that left three deceased, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) initiated discussions with both foreign nations and the Union (the largest opposition party) about potential consequences. The initial meeting is set for the upcoming week. The federal administration also introduced a range of measures, including budget reductions for refugees whose responsibility falls upon other EU countries. Germany sent Afghans back to their homeland for the first time since the Taliban regained power three years ago, on a Friday departure flight after the attack. The delayed flight had been in the works for an extended time, according to government sources.
Rhine: Government's measures package is "trivial adjustments"
The chairman of the minister-presidential conference, Boris Rhein (CDU), commented on the traffic light government's proposed package, telling the Bavarian media, "It's not all wrong, but it's just making trivial adjustments." The traffic light government continues to evade decisive action and has yet to address the fundamental question: "How can we prevent more individuals from entering the country?"
Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) criticized the limited substantial proposals in the migration package presented by the traffic light government, such as expanding expulsion interests and stricter exclusion of criminals from a protection status. "The rest remains unfortunately still very vague or brings almost nothing, such as the suggestion to no longer provide benefits in Dublin cases with the consent of the member state in which the asylum seeker entered the EU," Herrmann elaborated in Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Frei: Little impact of cuts for Dublin refugees
Thorsten Frei (CDU) addressed the planned cuts for asylum seekers who have already been registered in another EU country, stating to the "Rhenish Post," "These cuts impact far fewer cases than is commonly believed." Only cases are affected "when the take-back request has been approved and social security exists in the receiving country. This significantly reduces the scope of application."
Frei explained that other affected EU countries must agree upon returning refugees from Germany before those individuals can no longer receive benefits in Germany beyond the crucial minimum. This agreement is not always granted. "And in the future, our neighboring countries will likely deny consent even more often than they already do or register fewer individuals," Frei forecasted.
The suspected Solingen attacker is said to have entered Germany as a refugee through Bulgaria. Bulgaria agreed to a return; however, this didn't materialize for unspecified reasons.
Greens: Union is deceiving the public
Green party vice-fraction leader Konstantin von Notz accused the Union of proposing impractical measures. Von Notz stated, "Suggesting mass deportations to Syria or Afghanistan is currently impossible or that international law can simply be disregarded is misleading the public and argumentation at its most dishonest."
Germany deported 28 Afghan criminals to their homeland for the first time since the Taliban seized control three years ago. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser confirmed this. All deportees were men, as reported by the German Press Agency. Among those were sex offenders and violent offenders, according to the participating states.
Chancellor Scholz described the deportation flight as a message to all criminals. "It's a clear message: Those who commit crimes cannot expect that we will not deport them, as we will try to do so, as shown in this case," Scholz declared at a campaign event near Leipzig.
In response to the planned cuts for asylum seekers who have already been registered in another EU country, Thorsten Frei (CDU) indicated that the impact of these cuts might be less significant than commonly believed, as they only apply to cases where a take-back request has been approved and social security exists in the receiving country.
Frei also noted that obtaining the agreement of other affected EU countries to return refugees from Germany is often challenging, and this situation may worsen in the future.
