The pressure on the federal government to take measures against the increasing number of migrants is increasing. Chancellor Scholz now also commented and promised further measures. The FDP is calling for a change in migration policy.
In the debate about greater restrictions on migration, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has held out the prospect of possible additional measures. “There are a lot of people coming to Europe and Germany, and the number has increased dramatically,” he said at an SPD rally in Nuremberg.
Scholz acknowledged the fundamental right to asylum, but also called for more effective deportations. With regard to possible border controls, as several politicians had called for, he explained that depending on the current situation, “further measures may have to be taken at the borders, for example at the Polish one.” An increasing number of migrants are currently coming to Germany from there.
Location is “difficult”
Scholz called the situation “difficult” given the increased numbers. He said in Nuremberg that saying this is essential and right for every democrat in a society that freely discusses problems. “Germany is committed to the right to asylum,” he emphasized. Anyone who comes and cannot rely on reasons for protection or who has committed crimes must be repatriated.
Lindner for change in the Migration policy
The opposition Union had previously renewed its offer for joint solutions to the issue. Party leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner welcomed the willingness of the CDU and the Greens to cooperate on migration issues. “We need a change in migration policy like the asylum compromise in the early 1990s,” wrote Lindner on the short message service X, formerly Twitter. “I welcome the fact that both Robert Habeck and Friedrich Merz apparently see it the same way.”
Vice Chancellor Habeck (Greens) and the CDU top politicians Friedrich Merz and Carsten Linnemann had previously spoken out in favor of broadly supported reforms in migration policy. Habeck told the Germany editorial network that all “democratic parties” were obliged to “help find solutions.” For the Greens, this is “a new step,” wrote Lindner. “We should seize the opportunity. Because we need an overarching consensus for changes that could affect the Basic Law.”
The federal states are also continuing to apply pressure. Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) appealed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior to quickly introduce stationary border controls against illegal immigration. “Federal Interior Minister Faeser has already announced a lot. What counts now is action to put a stop to the unscrupulous smuggling gangs.”
Criticism from Business association and GDP
However, one central point – the required stationary border controls – is facing headwinds from the economy. The President of the Wholesale and Foreign Trade Association (BGA), Dirk Jandura, said in the “Handelsblatt” that wholesale and foreign trade thrives on the free movement of goods and that additional barriers are counterproductive. “Long truck traffic jams at the borders would be a nightmare for the supply chain,” warned Jandura. “These lead to temporary supply bottlenecks and increasing costs, which would ultimately be passed on to the consumer.”
And the police union (GdP) also rejects permanent stationary border controls because of the personnel and technical effort. In addition, they would not lead to a reduction in the number of asylum seekers “for legal reasons,” said GdP boss Jochen Kopelke to the “Editorial Network Germany”.
However, he welcomes temporary increased controls in order to more closely prosecute those behind illegal entries. “Our main focus must be on combating gang-based smuggling crime; that is the key to curbing illegal migration. You can only get information about the gang structures and money flows by breaking down the smuggling gangs, and that starts with information from temporary checkpoints.”
Fibers open to border controls
After a long period of rejection, the Federal Ministry of the Interior is now examining short-term stationary border controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic in the fight against smuggling crime. A spokesman for Minister Nancy Faeser announced this on Friday.
The Union had previously called on the federal government to take quick measures to limit migration and offered its support. CDU leader Friedrich Merz called, among other things, for a stricter policy on deportations. He suggested Denmark as a model: Asylum seekers there would only receive benefits in kind and would be housed in collective accommodation, and people who were required to leave the country would be deported immediately.
Merz: “Then throw the Greens out”
At the same time, the Union is increasing the pressure on the traffic light coalition. “I offer you: Let’s do this together, and if you can’t do it with the Greens, then throw them out, then we’ll do it with you – but we have to solve this problem,” said Merz at the CSU party conference in Munich. There are “explosives here for the cohesion of our society”. If the problem is not solved, there is a risk of further radicalization of the party spectrum.