CDU leader Merz wants to make other countries “safe countries of origin” to make deportations easier. Georgia and Moldova should get this status. But the traffic light coalition does not agree on the subject.
Joachim Stamp should know Tbilisi and Chişinău quite well by now. The Federal Government’s special representative for migration agreements has traveled to the capitals of Georgia and Moldova several times in recent months to talk to the governments there about migration. Migration agreements are planned to facilitate the legal immigration of workers to Germany. Seasonal workers from there are also always an issue.
The first step has now been taken: the federal government classifies Moldova and Georgia as safe countries of origin. In the past, more than ten percent of the asylum applications came from these countries, says the FDP politician Stamp in an interview with the SWR. Germany therefore has a great interest in including Georgia and Moldova on the list of safe countries of origin.
The authorities can then reject asylum applications from there as “obviously unfounded”. Because it is assumed that there is no political persecution or inhumane treatment in these states – the people from there are therefore not threatened with harm if they are sent back.
Decision causes criticism
However, the assessment is controversial. According to Pro Asyl, members of the Roma ethnic group are discriminated against in Moldova. In Georgia, the human rights organization reports on backsliding in terms of democracy and the rule of law.
Clara Bünger, spokeswoman for refugee policy for the Left Party in the Bundestag, makes similar observations. “Georgia, in particular, is known for persecuting queer people. The classification as a safe country of origin sends the wrong signal to all people who have to flee from there, who are threatened,” says Bünger in an interview with the ARD Capital Studio. She fears that people from Georgia and Moldova could lose their individual right to asylum and that asylum applications from there will be rejected across the board in the future.
That won’t happen, assures Stamp, the commissioner for migration agreements. He points out that both countries are visa-free for travel to the European Union. According to Stamp, anyone who is being persecuted can therefore leave the country and initiate an asylum procedure in the EU – for example in Germany. From the point of view of the FDP politician, these are likely to be isolated cases. Because more than 99 percent of applicants from Georgia and Moldova currently do not meet the asylum criteria. Your applications will therefore be rejected.
Lawsuits against rejected asylum are becoming more difficult
Many of them complain about it: a process that often drags on for months, sometimes even years. The reason: many German courts are overloaded. As long as legal proceedings are ongoing, people have the right to social benefits in Germany. “They take advantage of the welfare system,” says Stamp. “This is very embarrassing for both countries. They would like to be classified as safe countries of origin so that it is not worth applying for asylum.”
If a citizen from a safe country of origin complains about the rejection of his asylum application, he must do so from his home country. Then there are no social benefits from Germany.
Controversial in the traffic light coalition
The FDP is behind the concept of safe countries of origin, as is Interior Minister and SPD politician Nancy Faeser. The Greens are the only partner in the traffic light coalition that is struggling.
According to co-party leader Omid Nouripour, the Greens consider the concept of safe countries of origin to be wrong. “We don’t think it will solve any problems. At the same time, there is something like a free pass for states that then explain to us that their human rights situation is not a problem,” says Nouripour.
Nevertheless, the Greens go with the specific case. They nod to the initiative by the Federal Ministry of the Interior to declare Georgia and Moldova safe countries of origin. Nouripour points out that both countries are on the way to the European Union. He also speaks of progress in the rule of law.
CDU wants more secure countries of origin
CDU leader Friedrich Merz would like to give more countries the status of safe countries of origin. “The fundamental right to asylum has limits when it comes to recognizing the actual reasons for asylum,” said Merz in the Funke media. He can imagine North African countries being put on the list – he cites Tunisia and Algeria as examples. The CDU chairman is concerned with the possibility of faster deportations.
But this is where the Greens’ willingness to negotiate ends. In Algeria in particular, the human rights situation is too problematic, says party leader Nouripour.
There have been several attempts to declare the Maghreb countries safe countries of origin – and the Greens didn’t play along. They blocked the project in the Federal Council. Nouripour’s words now indicate that something like this is not happening in the case of Georgia and Moldova, that state governments with Green participation are not opposed. In this case, nothing should stand in the way of the extended list of safe countries of origin.