As a result of the knife attack in Solingen, there will be tougher rules for asylum seekers and more powers for terror investigators. But the measures are also not without controversy in the traffic light coalition.
Almost two months after the knife attack in Solingen, the traffic light coalition’s so-called security package is up for a vote in the Bundestag today. The SPD, Greens and FDP launched the project after the suspected Islamist-motivated attack that left three dead.
The Union and FDP do not go far enough with the tougher rules for asylum seekers and the expansion of powers for investigators. In the SPD and Green factions, there is criticism, among other things, of tightening measures in the area of migration. Votes are taken by roll call, meaning no votes and abstentions become public. After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat is also expected to deal with the package today.
What should change
Asylum seekers for whose requests for protection another European country is responsible under the so-called Dublin rules should be excluded from state benefits – if it is legally and actually possible for them to leave the country. There should be exceptions if children are affected. Furthermore, trips home by those recognized as being entitled to protection should not have an impact on their protection status if they are “morally imperative”.
In addition, gun laws should be tightened. It is now made clear that the ban on carrying weapons at folk festivals or sporting events also applies to knives, which should be explicitly mentioned at this point in the weapons law in the future. However, there should be exceptions, for example for certain professional groups.
The security authorities should be given the opportunity to compare biometric data on the Internet in certain cases. However, searching for faces and voices using an automated application should only be permitted if the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) or his representative has this approved by a court. If there is imminent danger, the BKA boss or one of the three deputies can make the order themselves for a maximum period of three days.
The trigger
The suspected Islamist-motivated knife attack at a city festival on August 23rd in Solingen sparked a heated debate. Three people were killed and eight others injured. The suspected Syrian was actually supposed to be deported to Bulgaria in 2023, but that failed.
After the attack, the federal government agreed to tighten migration and weapons laws as well as more powers for investigators. After a hearing with experts, the coalition partners made cuts to the plans. The traffic light factions SPD, Greens and FDP are behind the package that is now to be voted on in the Bundestag – at least more or less.
How many votes are there from the SPD and the Greens?
There are concerns among the SPD and the Greens that the project goes too far. The three traffic light factions together make up 415 of 733 MPs. So you have 48 votes more than the absolute majority. According to participants, there were 20 to 25 votes against in a test vote in the SPD parliamentary group on Tuesday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged members of parliament to give their consent at the meeting.
The new SPD general secretary Matthias Miersch is nevertheless confident. “I assume that the very large majority will vote for the security package,” he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Scholz’s statements were not a threat, but an appeal. “Our rules of procedure stipulate: If the majority of MPs vote for a decision in a parliamentary group meeting, then everyone in the Bundestag must adhere to it,” Miersch made clear.
FDP agrees and wants more
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr says he firmly believes that the package will receive a majority in favor of the Bundestag. “The law makes an important contribution to bringing order to migration policy. But more steps need to be taken,” said Dürr to the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”. The FDP parliamentary group had recently decided on a more extensive nine-point paper on migration policy. Dürr also suggested that the party and faction leaders of the coalition and the Union talk about further measures.
Union refuses and wants more
Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) has recommended that members of his parliamentary group reject the traffic light package. The CSU legal expert Volker Ullrich spoke of a “security package”. Some measures such as the knife ban are merely symbolic politics. Other effective measures, such as rejections at the borders, were missing, Ullrich criticized in the Funke newspapers.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) complained that the coalition’s “security package” was far from enough. “It doesn’t deserve its name,” Wüst told the “Rheinische Post”. He referred to proposals from North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein, among others, for more effective rules for returns in Europe. The CDU and the Greens govern together in all three countries.
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.
