The new German government intends to strengthen migration policy and reject without papers without papers at the country's borders as soon as Friedrich Merz is sworn as Chancellor next week, his chief of staff said on Wednesday.
Thorsten Frei, the next chief of the Chancellery, said that the stricter rules would apply from May 6 – although it remains to be seen if there will be a repression of Brussels due to potential conflicts with European law.
“Whoever tries to illegally penetrate Germany should expect the German border to be the end of the road from May 6,” said Frei. The government will “expand and intensify identity checks on German borders from the first day,” he told Funke Media Group.
German Social Democrats (SPD) Wednesday Approved an agreement To join a new government of coalition led by the Christian Christian Christian Union (CDU) of Merz and his Bavarian sister party, the Social Union Christian (CSU).
“No one can ask for asylum in the country of his choice,” said Frei. “According to European law, this must happen when someone enters the European Union for the first time. It is almost never Germany.”
Although Germany is technically authorized to reject individuals at its borders which lack valid documentation, there are legal limits in place, in particular with regard to asylum seekers.
Under the EU asylum law, the 1951 refugee convention and the German asylum law, Germany is generally required to leave individuals who claim asylum at its borders in the country to treat their complaint.
Germany significantly tight Controls in September 2024, when he implemented temporary checks in the nine of his land borders in order to slow down irregular migration.
The measure, which was finally extended, sparked the anger of the German neighbors, notably Poland, whose chief Donald Tusk said that this decision was fundamentally opposed to the principle of the Schengen region without passport in Europe.
Other countries, such as Austria, have expressed a reluctance to bring back the migrants who were diverted from the German border.
Controversial measurement
We do not know to what extent the Germany's decision to respect strict border controls and potentially keep asylum seekers away at its border will be welcomed by other countries of the Bloc and the European Commission, which previously highlighted the need for a collective and unified migration approach.
Frei has announced that the Government already coordinated the changes to come with neighboring countries such as France, Austria and Poland. The planned change has already received “very wide approval,” said Frei.
The Commission did not immediately react to the announcement made by the next German government. He said on several occasions that the declines on the border are against EU law and have urged Member States to guarantee fair and equal access to the asylum process.
Brussels gave in Poland green light To temporarily suspend the right to asylum, however, this exceptional provision only applies in cases where migration flows are under armament by foreign actors, which does not apply to the situation in Germany.
Frei clearly indicated that the new Merz government intends to reshape the country's immigration policy to that focused on control and limitation.
ADVERTISEMENT“We have concluded very clear agreements on returns in Afghanistan and Syria, for example, on border controls and setbacks, on our initiatives at European level,” he said earlier this month.
The agreement of the government of the entering coalition does not stop at permanent border border controls and large seizure prohibitions for undocumented migrants, proposing rather than asylum seekers arriving from another EU state would be refused entry.
The agreement indicates that the measures must be implemented “in coordination with our European neighbors”.
The SPD insisted on the fact that this should require the explicit consent of neighboring countries, a prerequisite that the CDU deemed unnecessary.
ADVERTISEMENT