European asylum policy: Cabinet approves German framework for EU asylum reform

So that the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) can be implemented in Germany on time, the federal government has decided on two necessary changes to the law. The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced on Wednesday that, according to a cabinet decision, the legal basis for the EU reform package would be “implemented one-to-one” in Germany.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) also wants to apply the CEAS regulation for the so-called external border procedures at German airports before the EU law implementation deadline of mid-2026. However, for the external border procedures, which only affect Germany at seaports and international airports, coordination between the federal government and the states is necessary due to the necessary accommodation capacities.

According to the information, the draft laws that have now been passed also stipulate that in cases where Germany intends to accept asylum seekers and recognized refugees from another European country, personal hearings will ensure that people who pose a security threat are identified and not accepted become. If there are threats to security and order, there should be no deadline for departure, “but rather expulsion and repatriation should take place as quickly as possible.”

The cabinet decision sends an important signal in Europe “that Germany will implement the new law quickly and comprehensively,” said Faeser. She also wants to continue to work at the European level for the rapid implementation of the reform in all member states.

The CEAS reform approved by the EU states gives the member states until June 2026 to implement it – until then the previous rules apply across Europe. Among other things, they provide for an obligation to check the identity of arrivals. Asylum seekers with an EU-wide protection rate of less than 20 percent should go through their procedure at the EU’s external border.

According to figures from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), around 179,000 people applied for asylum in Germany for the first time in the first nine months of this year.