How can immigration to Germany be regulated? There are many ideas for this, but no silver bullet. Now the Federal President is getting involved – with an appeal.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has spoken out in favor of limiting the number of refugees in Germany and called on all democratic parties to work together. Politics is currently still in election campaign mode because of the state elections in Hesse and Bavaria, said Steinmeier on Monday evening on ARD.
“I very much hope that when this is behind us, a climate will emerge again in which the democratic parties can come to an agreement with each other.” If refugee policy remains an eternal controversial issue, others would benefit from it, warned Steinmeier – without mentioning the AfD by name.
The elections in Hesse and Bavaria will take place next Sunday. CDU leader Friedrich Merz is urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to talk about migration policy the day after the election. In the “Handelsblatt” he complained that Scholz had only spoken to him about the topic once. “At the moment there is only silence coming from the Chancellery.” However, Scholz has generally agreed to hold talks with Merz.
Large majority for cross-party cooperation
Almost three quarters of the population (73 percent) would like such cooperation between the government and the CDU/CSU, as the RTL/ntv “Trend Barometer” from the Forsa Institute showed. Only 20 percent of those surveyed believe it is sufficient if the coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP finds a common line on immigration policy.
77 percent more asylum applications than in the previous year
The number of asylum seekers in Germany has risen massively this year. From January to August, more than 220,000 people applied for the first time – 77 percent more than in the same period last year.
Scholz had already spoken out in favor of limiting immigration in an interview with the Editorial Network Germany (RND) at the weekend. “The number of refugees seeking to reach Germany is currently too high,” he said, calling for effective controls on the EU’s external borders.
Steinmeier: “We need to limit access”
Steinmeier now made a similar statement. “We need to limit access, there’s no question about that,” he said. In the end, this can only be achieved if Germany carries out external border controls with the other European member states. In addition, testing procedures would have to be carried out at the external borders and people without a right to asylum would have to be deported from there. “If we get this regulation right, and thank God we are on the way now, then the number of arrivals in Germany will also decrease,” said Steinmeier.
Negotiating with countries on migration agreements
The Federal Government sees migration agreements with countries of origin as another key element in limiting the number of refugees, in addition to border controls and the establishment of reception centers at the EU’s external borders. On the one hand, they are intended to enable people without the right to remain in Germany to return to their home countries, but on the other hand they are also intended to regulate the immigration of skilled workers into the German labor market. Such agreements are currently being negotiated with at least six countries.
The special representative appointed to conclude the agreements, Joachim Stamp, is currently in confidential discussions with several countries, the Federal Ministry of the Interior told the German Press Agency upon request. “Currently, Georgia, Moldova, Kenya, Colombia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan can be mentioned.”
So far only one agreement with India
The SPD, Greens and FDP had already agreed in the coalition agreement to appoint a special representative. Stamp began work on February 1 this year. Shortly beforehand – at the beginning of December 2022 – a first “Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement” was signed with India, which has been in force since March. But it remained the only one to this day.
However, there are now at least declarations of intent with the two Central Asian states of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The corresponding agreement with Kyrgyzstan was signed on Friday during the Central Asia summit near Scholz. However, very few asylum seekers are currently coming to Germany from the two former Soviet republics. According to statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees from January to August of this year, there were 60 from Kyrgyzstan and 100 from Uzbekistan.
Stamp: “This will only happen gradually”
Kenya (272 applications), Colombia (2037 applications) and Moldova (2124) are also not among the main countries of origin. Georgia (7405) ranks a little higher in the statistics.
However, Stamp made it clear from the start that he only sees an impact from his work in the medium to long term. “This can only be done gradually. We cannot now work on 20 countries at the same time,” he told “Spiegel” a few days ago.
Scholz: “We’re really doing it now”
The day before, at a public discussion in Hamburg, the Chancellor was confident that further migration agreements would soon follow. “There have already been a lot of noises, let me put it that way, but we are really doing it now and have pushed it very far,” said Scholz.
He pointed out that a template for the agreements has now been drafted and the special representative has been appointed. He himself always brings up the topic in his meetings with other heads of state and government.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
