The minister of interior affairs in Brandenburg proposes to eliminate the asylum system.
On the upcoming Sunday, Brandenburg's parliament will be elected, with surveys indicating that the AfD is in the lead. Germany's Interior Minister Stübgen advocates for scrapping the existing asylum law and refers to the Geneva Refugee Convention, which Germany upholds. He also offers advice to Germany's Foreign Minister Baerbock.
Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen is advocating for abolishing the current asylum law in the ongoing migration debate. He justifies his proposal by arguing that the individual right to asylum is no longer necessary in the Basic Law as per the rules of the Geneva Refugee Convention, which Germany already adheres to. He proposes incorporating the Geneva Refugee Convention as a constitutional guarantee in the Basic Law.
Stübgen made this proposal in the lead-up to the state election in his federal state, where the possibility of an AfD victory looms. Without the asylum law, it would be feasible to implement refugee quotas, Stübgen asserted. "We would then have the power to decide who enters our country, and we could determine the extent of migrant intake and integration."
Similar suggestions have previously been presented by the Union. However, CDU politician Stübgen seems dubious about the likelihood of a change to the Basic Law: "As such, we are focusing on what is achievable now."
Stübgen supports declaring a national state of emergency to turn away asylum seekers at the borders. He is confident that this is legally permissible, even if the number of new arrivals is currently dwindling, he told the newspaper. "The burdens are no longer manageable." Discussions with neighboring countries would be essential to ensure successful turnaways, Stübgen stated.
"I would suggest that Foreign Minister (Annalena) Baerbock travels less to Israel and more engages with our neighboring countries about how to handle it if we declare a state of emergency," he recommended, pointing to the Green politician. Sharp criticism has already come from Poland and Austria regarding potential turnaways of asylum seekers at their borders with Germany, which the Union has called for some time.
Thus far, it has been the practice that asylum seekers' eligibility for asylum is determined at the borders. According to the so-called Dublin procedure, they could be returned to another EU country if they had previously filed or could have filed an asylum application there, provided that country grants consent. However, this necessary consent is often not granted, and the asylum seekers remain in Germany.
The German Interior Minister Stübgen, discussing migration matters ahead of Brandenburg's election, suggested incorporating the Geneva Refugee Convention as a constitutional guarantee in the Basic Law, as he advocates for abolishing the existing asylum law. During this debate, Stübgen also called on Germany's Foreign Minister Baerbock to focus more on neighboring countries regarding potential border policies.
