ARD Germany trend: Majority for asylum procedures at EU external borders

Four out of five Germans support loudly ARD Germany trend the proposal to carry out asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders. Half would like Germany to take in fewer refugees than it currently does.

It is a contentious issue with a long history in the European Union: a proposal by the EU Commission for an asylum and migration package has been on the table since 2020, but its implementation has so far failed due to the different positions of the member states. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has now announced that she will support an asylum procedure at the EU’s external borders. Refugees should therefore already be registered, recorded and identified at the EU’s external borders.

A large majority of Germans support this approach. For 79 percent the proposal goes in the right direction, for one in ten (11 percent) it goes in the wrong direction. The details of such a regulation are now being discussed in the run-up to a federal-state summit planned for May 10 in the Chancellery. Critics fear that such asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders will undermine the right to asylum and de facto abolish it for many refugees.

There is broad public support for the fact that people who are fleeing for various reasons should be admitted to Germany – even if this is slightly declining in some areas: 84 percent of citizens think it is right for Germany to take in refugees fleeing war or civil war (-10 compared to February 2016). 70 percent support the reception of people who have fled their home country due to famine or natural disasters (-9 compared to September 2015). Two thirds (68 percent) support the reception of refugees who are persecuted for political or religious reasons (-5 compared to February 2016).

On the other hand, only a minority of 30 percent think it is right to take in people in Germany who have fled because they have no work or income in their home country (+5); six out of ten Germans (61 percent) find that wrong.

Majority for sea rescue of refugees in the Mediterranean

Efforts for civil sea rescue in the Mediterranean enjoy majority support among the citizens. Six out of ten Germans (60 percent) think it’s good that private initiatives rescue refugees from distress at sea in the Mediterranean and bring them to European ports, one in three (32 percent) doesn’t think it’s a good thing. Another 60 percent think that the EU states should also use their own resources to rescue refugees from distress at sea; 29 percent disagree.

Every second person wants to take in fewer refugees in Germany

So while there is a clear commitment to the principle that Germany should take in refugees and that people need to be rescued from distress at sea, the view of the concrete situation in Germany looks a little different. A majority of citizens (52 percent) are in favor of taking in fewer refugees than at present. This group of respondents has grown by 12 percentage points since the beginning of 2020, when the number of refugees arriving in Germany was lower. Almost one in three (33 percent) is currently of the opinion that Germany should take in about as many refugees as it currently does (-9 compared to January 2020). Almost every tenth (8 percent) thinks Germany should take in more refugees (-3).

A different picture emerges when you ask about skilled workers from abroad. Four out of ten Germans (41 percent) believe that Germany should recruit more skilled workers from abroad. Another 28 percent consider the current level to be appropriate. Almost one in four (23 percent), on the other hand, thinks Germany should recruit fewer skilled workers from abroad.

party competence at immigration policy decreased for all parties

Last has the ARD Germany trend before the federal elections in 2021, which party the citizens trust most to pursue a good refugee and immigration policy. Here, trust in all parties represented in the Bundestag has declined: one in five (21 percent) trusts the task most likely to the Union (-2 compared to September 2021). 16 percent see this competence most likely in the SPD (-6). The AfD comes to 12 percent (-2), the Greens to 6 percent (-8), the FDP to 4 percent (-2), as does the left (+-0). 2 percent of respondents name another party (+1). A relative majority of 35 percent cannot think of any party for a good refugee and immigration policy; this proportion is 19 percentage points higher than just before the 2021 federal election.

Half of Germans (50 percent) say they are afraid that so many refugees are coming to Germany; this value is almost unchanged from February 2016. 46 percent disagree with this statement. Three out of four Germans (77 percent) believe that the political parties pay far too little attention to the problems caused by refugee immigration (+1 compared to January 2014). About four out of ten Germans (37 percent) think that politicians in Germany are doing enough to care for and accommodate refugees. Meanwhile, 27 percent say they are doing too little and 29 percent that they are doing – on the contrary – too much.

AfD draws level with the Greens, Union is the strongest force

If there were a general election on Sunday, the chancellor party SPD would currently have 17 percent (-1 compared to April). The Union would remain at 30 percent (+/-0) and thus continue to be the strongest force. The Greens lose a point and are currently at 16 percent. You would be level with the AfD (16 percent, +1) in third place. For the AfD it is the highest value since November 2018. The FDP also comes to 7 percent (+/-0) in May. Die Linke achieves 5 percent (+1) and would thus narrowly enter the Bundestag. All other parties account for an unchanged 9 percent.