Wüst demands new asylum summit from Scholz
The CDU/CSU is putting further pressure on the traffic light on the issue of migration: NRW state leader Wüst is calling for a new round of talks between the federal and state governments. The CDU politician believes that solutions for third countries should also be at the top of the agenda.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst is calling for a new summit meeting on migration in the Chancellery. "We need an asylum summit with the Federal Chancellor early in the new year," the CDU politician told Bild am Sonntag. "The heads of government from the federal states and the federal government must review the effectiveness of the measures taken so far in January, or February at the latest, and be prepared to make adjustments if necessary in order to end irregular migration."
At the last asylum summit at the beginning of November, Scholz reached an agreement with the heads of government of the 16 federal states after months of dispute over the distribution of refugee costs and agreed on measures to reduce irregular migration to Germany. The German government also wanted to examine whether asylum procedures outside of Europe were possible.
At the time, Wüst in particular had insisted on asylum procedures outside of Europe. He has now reiterated this demand: "Approaches outside of Europe, such as third-country solutions and a binding regulation for people from countries with low protection quotas, should be at the top of the agenda." Fundamentally, the Christian Democrat emphasized that Germany "cannot fight poverty around the world with our asylum law".
"No K-debate at the wrong time"
At the same time, Wüst warned the CDU/CSU against premature debates about the candidacy for chancellor. When asked whether he would like to see CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz as a candidate for chancellor, Wüst told the newspaper: "I hope that we as the CDU/CSU do not make it too easy for the Chaos-Ampel by holding personnel debates at the wrong time." That is why he is not contributing to the debate himself. "The CDU and CSU will clarify the issue together as agreed in the year before the general election."
Saxony's state premier and CDU vice-chairman Michael Kretschmer told the newspaper in mid-December that Merz had done an "outstanding job as party leader for two years, he has reunited the CDU and is therefore the logical candidate for chancellor". CSU state group leader Alexander Dobrindt also recently confirmed that Merz is the clear favorite in the race for chancellor.
The next Bundestag election will take place in the fall of 2025. In 2021, Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder left the Union's candidacy for chancellor to then party leader Armin Laschet after a bitter power struggle. Wüst has not yet expressed any open ambitions to run for chancellor within the Christian Democrats, but has not denied it either. In August, Söder spoke out in favor of not selecting the Union's candidate for chancellor until after the 2024 elections in the east. New state parliaments will be elected in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in September.
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Wüst advocates for a review of migration measures at the upcoming asylum summit, suggesting that they may need to be adjusted to address irregular migration. He also emphasizes the importance of considering third-country solutions and regulations for countries with low protection quotas.
Given his prior insistence on asylum procedures outside of Europe, it's no surprise that Wüst reiterates his demand for such approaches to be at the top of the agenda for the asylum summit. His goal is to find ways to combat poverty around the world without relying solely on Germany's asylum law.
Source: www.ntv.de
