In the wake of the terror attacks in Solingen, the traffic light coalition is pushing for gun law reform, new police powers and changes to residency law. The CDU is continuing to insist on rejections.
After the failure of talks between the government and the CDU/CSU on curbing irregular migration, CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz has made a new offer: Germany should test comprehensive rejections at the borders for an initial three months starting October 1. The signal effect alone will greatly reduce the influx of migrants in a very short time, he told the Funke media group. “After the three months, we will take stock.” The federal government will perhaps then realise that this is the right thing to do. Comprehensive rejections at the borders are the only effective way to end irregular migration to Germany in the short term, Merz emphasised.
His proposal was not well received by the Greens. “Merz’s proposal does not become more correct or more legally compliant by being limited in time,” said parliamentary secretary Irene Mihalic to the German Press Agency. The fact that Merz “is sticking to it despite it being repeatedly confirmed as illegal shows that the Union is completely clueless.” This “isolation debate” is dividing society and must stop now.
Merz also said he was open to new talks at the highest level with the governing coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. “If (FDP leader) Christian Lindner is convinced that a conversation at the top level will bring us closer to a real turnaround in asylum and migration policy, then I am of course available,” Merz told Funke media.
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said he was pleased “that Mr Merz has now also taken a step”. This brings a cross-party alliance to solve the migration problem, something his parliamentary group has been advocating from the start, much closer.
Lindner had proposed a top-level meeting on migration
Lindner also praised it, saying it was good that Merz was open to further talks. “We should not look back now and see how the last few days have been, but continue to work together on a solution in the interests of the citizens.” There is a need for “a close alliance between the democratic parties that support the state.” Neither the CDU/CSU nor the SPD, the Greens or the FDP can win on the issue of migration.
When asked whether Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Merz could still come to the table after the sharp statements of the past few days, Lindner said: “We are grown-ups.”
After the failure of the migration talks between the traffic light government and the Union, Lindner had called for a new attempt at the highest level on Tuesday. Merz should negotiate with Scholz, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and himself personally.
The Union faction is specifically calling for those migrants who have already been accepted into another EU member state or the Schengen area to be rejected “or who can also apply for asylum in a state from which they wish to enter.” This would affect practically all foreigners who come to Germany by land.
Broad support for new security package
There was broad approval in the Bundestag on Thursday for the measures of the so-called security package of the traffic light coalition – even if the Union had hoped for more. This was evident in the first discussions on the changes to the law. The drafts presented contained “many sensible measures”, even if comprehensive rejections at the German borders and other options for combating irregular migration and terrorism were missing, said the parliamentary manager of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (CDU).
The draft laws presented by the SPD, the Greens and the FDP include, among other things, a tightening of gun laws with regard to carrying knives in public, the cancellation of benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act for people whose asylum procedures are the responsibility of another state and whose deportation has already been ordered.
There are also plans to give the authority to compare biometric data from publicly available internet data so that security authorities can better identify and locate suspected terrorists and criminal suspects in the future.
No more knives at folk festivals
At festivals and other public events, in places with a high crime rate, on public transport and at bus stops, the use of knives will in future be prohibited, or can be prohibited, regardless of the length of the blade, in order to better prevent knife attacks and acts of violence. There will be expanded control powers to monitor compliance with the new bans.
Everything “that is practically and legally possible” is being done to ensure the safety of citizens, said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD). The federal government is acting with discretion and without stirring up resentment.
In Solingen, three people were killed and eight others injured in a suspected Islamist knife attack at a city festival in August. A 26-year-old Syrian is in custody for the crime. The man was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria in 2023, but this failed.
The Solingen SPD member of the Bundestag, Ingo Schäfer, said: “The crime still traumatizes my hometown today.” The “security package” is a first step towards drawing consequences.
The AfD faction expressed dissatisfaction with the legislative plans. Its parliamentary manager, Bernd Baumann, said: “Anyone who wants a real change in migration must vote for the AfD.” The domestic policy spokesman, Gottfried Curio, directly addressed the state elections in Brandenburg the weekend after next and said: “The SPD and the Greens are dying parties.”
The outgoing chairwoman of the Left Party, Janine Wissler, said: “We defend the right to asylum and we defend human rights.” Bundestag President Bärbel Bas reprimanded Wissler for calling the AfD faction a “skunk” in her speech.
The committees will now discuss the two draft laws of the traffic light coalition as well as proposals on migration policy from the Union and AfD.
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.
