Poland says it was “not informed in advance” about the border plans. Chancellor Scholz now wants to speak to other EU heads of government to explain the asylum policy. The Netherlands announced its own measures.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to discuss asylum policy with several European heads of government in the coming days. The Chancellor will “soon” speak individually with the heads of state and government of the European neighbouring countries to explain the German plans, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. A discussion with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also planned.
As Hebestreit later explained, the Chancellor had already spoken on the phone with the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Scholz explained the measures initiated by the federal government. The topic was also “further considerations on reducing irregular migration, which are within the framework of the European legal order”. Both agreed “that the challenges of irregular migration and smuggling activities can only be overcome jointly and that close cooperation between European partners is essential”.
There was also agreement on strengthening the protection of Europe’s external borders – “especially in view of the cynical exploitation of migrants by Belarus.” Scholz and Tusk agreed to continue “their close exchange” on these issues.
Ministry of the Interior speaks of “irritations”
In recent days, there has been criticism, particularly from Poland and Austria, of Germany’s plans for a different approach at the external borders. The government attributes this mainly to the more far-reaching demands of the opposition Union for the general rejection of migrants, which are not being implemented at all.
“There has been some irritation,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The ministry also announced that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had invited government representatives from Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Slovenia and Great Britain, as well as the Western Balkan states, on September 17 as part of the “Berlin Process.” Representatives of the EU and international organizations will also attend the meeting. “This year, the focus of the meeting is on issues of irregular migration, human trafficking, smuggling and organized crime,” said the ministry.
“Unusual way of dealing with one’s neighbours”
There has already been criticism from Poland in recent days. However, this is not primarily about the issue of rejections, but also about the border controls that Faeser had extended to all German borders at the beginning of the week.
Poland sees this as a strain on relations between the two countries. “We were not informed in any way in advance,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski told Stern magazine. “We found out about it when the German Interior Minister made the decision public.”
Bartoszewski criticised this as a “somewhat unusual way of dealing with your neighbours”. He added: “You cannot surprise your neighbours with decisions like this. That is not how you deal with partners.” The introduction of border controls is the “end of the spirit of Schengen”, he said, referring to the European area in which free movement of people and goods is usually guaranteed. On Tuesday, Poland’s Prime Minister Tusk had already described the German approach as “unacceptable”. There was also criticism from Austria.
Federal Government: “No burden”
Meanwhile, the German government does not see any strained relationship with Poland. “I cannot see any strain there,” said government spokesman Hebestreit. The discussions on migration policy that are being held here will also be held by Germany with its European neighbours. “We are working very closely with the new Polish government,” emphasised a spokesman for the Foreign Office.
Border controls at all German land borders are to begin on Monday and will initially last for six months. However, controls have been in place at the borders with Poland since October last year – “closely coordinated” with Poland, as a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said. For the country, “nothing at all” will therefore change. The extension from Monday applies to Germany’s western and northern borders.
Netherlands wants to declare a state of emergency
The Netherlands, meanwhile, has its own plans: In order to severely limit the entry of asylum seekers, the country wants to declare a state of emergency. The radical right-wing asylum minister Marjolein Faber announced that parts of the asylum law would be repealed “very quickly”. The Netherlands would have the “strictest” asylum and immigration rules in Europe, she explained.
The country also wants to introduce stricter border controls. The asylum minister plans to restrict family reunification, increase the deportation of criminals and rejected asylum seekers, and reduce the opportunities to challenge court decisions. The government also wants to submit an application to the EU Commission to be allowed to deviate from European asylum and migration policy.
It is time for a drastic change of course, said Faber. “We are taking measures to make the Netherlands as unattractive as possible for asylum seekers.” Tightening asylum law is one of the priorities of the new right-wing government in The Hague, in which the radical right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of right-wing populist Geert Wilders is also involved for the first time.
Steinmeier warns traffic light coalition
After the preliminary failure of the migration talks between the government and the Union, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also joined the debate. He believes that the traffic light coalition has a duty to push for changes in migration and asylum policy. “If the joint effort has failed, then something must be done in the coalition with what can be agreed upon,” he said in an interview with the ARD Morning Magazine.
The director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Germany, Stefan Keßler, warns against mixing terrorism and crime with migration. This is “a highly dangerous problem in the debate,” he told the portal kirche-und-leben.de. There is no question that public safety must be maintained after crimes such as those in Solingen and Mannheim. But the crimes have nothing to do with escape. “They were criminals. Escape and immigration are not the reason for the crime.”
The religious warned against lumping people who seek protection from persecution, war and violence together with criminals. In this respect, the debate about accepting people seeking protection is no longer oriented towards the matter at hand, but is being conducted “only for populist and party-political reasons”.
One trigger for the current debate on migration policy was the knife attack in Solingen, which was allegedly carried out by an Islamist from Syria.