Following the bloodbath at a city festival in Solingen, the traffic light coalition has launched a so-called security package. However, the Bundestag will not vote on it this month.
After hearing from experts on their so-called security package, the traffic light coalition still needs to coordinate internally. “The security package contains important measures that we are now discussing in the German Bundestag following the terrible knife attacks of the last few weeks,” said SPD parliamentary group vice-chair Dirk Wiese. The provisions in the area of gun laws, against violent Islamism and in residence law must not only be effective, but also legally secure.
The expert hearing on Monday provided important information, which his group is now evaluating with the coalition partners, said Wiese. Thoroughness is more important than speed here. However, the aim remains “that we will decide on the package as quickly as possible.”
The Bundestag discussed the draft laws presented by the SPD, the Greens and the FDP for the first time on September 12. They 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 the authority to biometrically compare publicly available data from the Internet so that the security authorities can better identify and locate suspected terrorists and suspects.
In addition to questions about the effectiveness of a general ban on weapons at folk festivals, data protection issues were also raised at the expert hearing.
“There are SPD MPs who have publicly criticized the draft from the beginning,” said SPD Bundestag MP Hakan Demir. He estimates: “The negotiations will be difficult.”
Union calls for quick vote
“Now the traffic light coalition is also arguing about security, which is completely irresponsible,” criticized the deputy chairwoman of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz (CSU). The planned measures are in any case too little and “now the package is apparently to be watered down even further. There is still disagreement between the government factions on key issues relating to migration policy and internal security, criticized Christoph de Vries (CDU).
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.
Source: Stern
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