Wüst urges speed on asylum issue
The CDU/CSU is insisting that asylum applications from refugees seeking protection in Germany should also be decided outside the EU in future. The federal and state governments want to examine whether this can be implemented at all. The head of government of North Rhine-Westphalia is pressing for answers soon.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst is pushing for the controversial handling of asylum procedures in third countries outside the European Union. This is an important approach, he told the magazine "Spiegel". "We cannot solve the migration issue here on German soil, on European soil," the CDU politician emphasized. Wüst called on Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to provide clarity on this issue.
"The Federal Chancellor has promised to examine whether the protection status of refugees can also be determined in transit or third countries," said Wüst. "I have clear expectations of the Chancellor that he will present the results of this review in the coming weeks and disclose which countries have been contacted," he added.
At the beginning of November, Chancellor Scholz and the heads of state governments had agreed that the German government would examine whether asylum procedures outside of Europe were possible. However, Scholz had referred to legal concerns and doubts about the feasibility of this. Wüst called for an early meeting between the federal and state governments and the Chancellor this year. "It is urgently necessary to prepare early on for the fact that refugee numbers are likely to rise significantly again soon. Not acting and waiting is not an option," he said.
"Not all people can come to us, all of whom may have good reasons to leave their homeland but have no right to protection in Europe," emphasized Wüst. "Irregular migration" must be stopped. The aim in future is to be able to do justice to those people who are fleeing war and displacement and really need protection. Asylum procedures in third countries and transit countries are an important approach here. It was about humanitarian solutions that could have a real impact in the medium and long term. He warned the German government against "putting off options for solutions".
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Source: www.ntv.de
