- Linder proposes a meeting on immigration with Scholz, Merz, and Habeck.
Following the collapse of migrant discussion negotiations between the traffic light coalition and the Union, FDP leader Christian Lindner is urging for another attempt at high-level dialogues. Union's faction leader Friedrich Merz should negotiate with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), and himself, Lindner suggested on the X platform. "The Union's cancellation of the asylum summit should not be the final word," Lindner stated, "We will resolve this issue together." Germany needs control and consequences in migration matters.
Other traffic light politicians accused the Union of being irresponsible and lacking teamwork due to the collapse of the talks, whereas the largest opposition force accused the coalition of lacking the will to limit illegal immigration. In a passionate speech, Chancellor Scholz himself criticized CDU leader Merz vigorously.
The dispute is anticipated to shape today's debate duel between the top politicians throughout the budget negotiations in the Bundestag.
Merz had declared migration talks with the government a failure prior to this. Scholz and Merz did not participate in the two meetings last week and on Tuesday. The traffic light side was represented by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP), and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), while the Union was represented by parliamentary business manager Thorsten Frei (CDU).
Scholz criticized the Union for "provincial theater play."
Looking at the Union's approach, Scholz said in an evening speech at the SPD's summer festival at the Seeheimer Circle: "The walkout from this round was already predetermined." And that is "humiliating for those responsible," the Chancellor criticized. "Leadership requires character, honesty, and firmness for this country. And not such small sleight of hand tricks and provincial theater play."
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also criticized the Union. "It is obvious that not all gentlemen who appeared at the talks in the Ministry of the Interior were interested in cooperation," Baerbock said to the editorial network Germany (RND). Green leader Omid Nouripour spoke of a "soap opera" in the news portal "t-online." "If they can find their way back to seriousness, we can continue talking," he said in the ARD "Tagesthemen."
Union demands a "stop sign at the borders."
The traffic light and the Union resumed migration policy discussions, involving state representatives, following the suspected Islamist knife attack in Solingen. Following the second round, Merz criticized that the coalition does not seem capable of comprehensive rejections at German state borders – which he had previously made a condition. "With that, the attempt to find a common path has failed," he added. He misses leadership from Chancellor Scholz.
"Today proves once again: The federal government is not ready for a turning point in migration," said Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) to the German Press Agency. "We require a real stop sign at the German borders, because the breaking point has been reached," Rhein demanded in the "Heute Journal" in the ZDF.
Faeser's proposal
Federal Interior Minister Faeser proposed a model during the discussion to expedite the transfer of asylum seekers already registered elsewhere to responsible European states in the future. Justice Minister Buschmann stated that keeping people in border areas is more effective than pushing them back across the green border, since those pushed back would likely attempt another entry at a different point. The traffic light government, according to Faeser, will now pursue these plans without the Union.
Rhein, currently also chair of the Prime Ministers' Conference, countered: "The proposal allows migrants to initially enter. From there, it becomes extremely complex – burdening justice and federal police with a laborious, lengthy procedure with little chance of success." He described it as a "bureaucratic monster." Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD), however, sees the federal government's proposal as a "feasible way to reduce access numbers and incentives for further travel from other EU states to Germany."
Representatives of the SPD and Greens raised European legal concerns about the Union's proposal to immediately return, even without an entry ban, those seeking asylum at the border.
FDP calls for returning to the negotiating table
The FDP parliamentary group's chairman, Christian Dürr, stated during the discussion that they offered "to introduce the Union's model, which provides for simple returns, at certain border points." Nevertheless, the Union left the talks. "The CDU and CSU should return to the negotiating table and implement this jointly with us," Dürr demanded.
Lewe (CDU), President of the Association of Towns and Cities, criticized that the talks ended without result. "However, we hope that the door is not finally closed," he said to the Funke media group's newspapers.
Clash anticipated in the Bundestag
Scholz and Merz will meet today in the traditional general debate on the budget for the upcoming year. The debate is traditionally opened by the opposition leader, Merz, followed by the Chancellor, then the other factions. The general debate is the highlight of the budget week in the Bundestag and is traditionally used by the opposition to settle accounts with the government's policy.
In light of the ongoing migration discussions, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expressed his disappointment with the Union's approach, labeling it as "provincial theater play" and "small sleight of hand tricks." Additionally, the situation in Germany necessitates a strong stance on migration matters, as stated by politicians, with Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) demanding a "real stop sign at the German borders."
