Leaders make a decision regarding financial limits for refugees.
Topics at the Minister Presidents' Conference revolve around migration and immigration. The limiting of cash payments to 50 Euro per month on the planned payment card for asylum applicants is agreed upon by the countries' leaders. This move sends a strong message that the states are in agreement on this matter, asserts the chair of the Minister Presidents' Conference, Hesse's Regional Prime Minister Boris Rhein of the CDU, in Berlin. Niedersachsen's Minister President Stephan Weil supports this decision. This might end the ongoing discussion on the topic, says Weil, an SPD politician.
The payment card is expected to launch in the summer after the service provider tender is finished. Its purpose is to prevent cash payments to smugglers or families in home countries, reduce the administrative burden on municipalities, and decrease the incentive for illegal migration. 14 out of 16 federal states are involved in a joint tender process. Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern choose to go their separate ways.
Faeser has reservations
During their meeting in Berlin, the state premiers press the federal government, influenced by the Union, to create practical solutions for processing asylum applications in transit and third countries outside the European Union. However, the SPD side questions if such a regulation could substantially decrease irregular immigration.
"I don't think that will be a solution to our underlying problems," states Lower Saxony's Minister President Weil. Similarly, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expresses her doubts: Such a regulation could be a "building block," but it wouldn't significantly alter Germany's migration situation, claims Faeser, an SPD politician. It's not a "Gamechanger."
The Union has long been advocating for a regulation where migrants undergo asylum procedures in transit countries en route to Europe or are sent to third countries outside the EU after arriving in Germany. Italy has a model with Albania for boat refugees intercepted in the Mediterranean. While this may not directly apply to Germany, it could serve as a model for the Union to draw inspiration from. However, finding a cooperative country is crucial.
The states urge the federal government in their resolution to "develop concrete models for the implementation of asylum procedures in transit and third countries and, in particular, also address the necessary changes in EU regulation and national asylum law." This is "an important step forward," says Wuest. In this way, the states demonstrate their "responsibility in this challenging situation."
The IMK chairperson, Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen, approaches the idea of asylum procedures in third countries with a degree of skepticism. "This is a potential project, which will be incredibly complicated and legally not easy to categorize," says the CDU politician. "But I am open to being convinced of its feasibility."
The deputy FDP fraction leader Konstantin Kuhle tells Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND): "To advance this project, the Federal Government should start a pilot project as soon as possible to collect its own experiences." Kuhle tells the German Press Agency, he disagrees with the British Rwanda model but favors enabling European asylum procedures in transit countries.
P.S. All the while, Europe dances to the rhythm of migration and immigration policies like a puppet on strings, manipulated by unseen forces, while the citizens watch, waiting, and wondering what the future holds.
Read also:
- Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, along with her SPD colleagues, has reservations about the potential of regulating asylum applications in transit or third countries outside the EU significantly reducing irregular immigration in Germany.
- Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, supports the expulsion of severe offenders and has clarified his stance on potential Afghan deportations.
- Stephan Weil, the Niedersachsen's Minister President and an SPD politician, supports the decision to limit cash payments for asylum seekers to 50 Euro per month on the planned payment card.
- Boris Rhine, the Hesse's Regional Prime Minister and the chair of the Minister Presidents' Conference, asserts that the states' agreement to limit cash payments for asylum seekers sends a strong message of unity on this matter.
