The federal government wants to deport more and faster. It also relies on cooperation with countries of origin and transit. What can Interior Minister Faeser achieve in Morocco?
It is one of the points on which a surprising number of people in German migration policy currently agree quickly. Migration agreements: They could be an instrument that could actually be used to get immigration to Germany under control. Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants it. The Union demands it. The special representative is working on it.
Because one thing is clear: If the federal government wants to follow the strong calls for more and faster deportations with action, then it also depends on cooperation with countries of origin and transit. And so Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser are both out and about on migration issues this week.
The Interior Minister travels to Morocco. She will be accompanied by Joachim Stamp, the Federal Government’s Special Representative for Migration Agreements. He has been in office since February. His job: to conclude agreements with the countries of origin that should not only be about the return of rejected asylum seekers, but also about skilled migration, visa facilitation and economic cooperation. So far he has not been able to conclude an agreement himself, but is in talks with several countries.
The purpose of the trip to Morocco is, among other things, to discuss “opportunities and interests for a deeper partnership in the field of migration,” according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
However, the meeting in Rabat with Faeser’s counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit will also focus on security issues, such as the fight against international terrorism. In addition, police cooperation is to be expanded to include investigations into “complex smuggling cases”. The federal police are already supporting the Moroccan border police.
Trend towards extensive agreements
Migration researcher Victoria Rietig from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) observes that the topic of migration is increasingly being combined with various policy areas. Development funds and so-called technical support measures such as training for border controls, jeeps or diplomatic attention always played a role in the negotiations. These are the levers that Germany has and uses – in addition to visa relief for skilled workers.
“Morocco is one of the important partners because it is a direct neighbor of Europe. It can substantially control migration through its policies. For example, by accepting migrants itself,” says Rietig. The country is also a more grateful partner than Tunisia, for example There is a greater interest in not viewing the issue of migration in a negative light: “The success of migration agreements depends on whether it fits into the political strategy of the country of origin and is a priority there.”
Effect “rather small”
However, Rietig also says: “The effect of migration agreements on the people who actually migrate is often rather small and weaker than politically announced.” In addition, with a view to Morocco: comparatively few people from the Maghreb state apply for asylum in Germany. In 2023 there were around 1,400 applications by the end of September. But Morocco is also a transit country – although many of the migrants stay in Spain or move on to France.
The protection rate for people from Morocco is comparatively low. Only 4.7 percent of the asylum applications that were decided on this year by the end of September 2023 were successful.
Against this background, the discussion has been raging in Germany for years as to whether Morocco, among others, could and should be designated as a safe country of origin. The Greens are clearly against it. The Chancellor has also recently appeared skeptical. The classification would probably not have a major impact on the number of asylum seekers and the duration of the procedures for people from Morocco. The CDU and CSU nevertheless formulate the demand at every opportunity.
The number of deportations to Morocco was also low: there were 63 in the first half of 2023. In 2022 there were a total of 71. Around 3,700 Moroccans were required to leave the country at the end of September – of which almost 2,800 had a tolerated stay – 715 because of a lack of travel documents, 497 because of unclear identity .
Left criticized Migration agreement
The Bundestag member Clara Bünger (Left) is critical of the migration agreements: “It’s clearly about the fact that you want to ward off people, that you want to seal yourself off and that ‘fortress Europe’ wants to continue to upgrade.”
The thrust is very clear. Morocco gets something if it takes on tasks in return: “If the whole time in Germany is discussing how we can limit migration. And if the answer to that is that Nancy Faeser goes to Morocco and tries to settle things there with agreements “The fact that Morocco rejects people or ensures that they do not travel further shows that this is the answer to the question: Who does the dirty job for Germany as Europe’s bouncer?”