Germany turns back more illegal migrants. Chancellor Merz emphasizes the policy of hospitality, but rejects shifting other people's problems to Germany, writes Auron Dodi.
The figures presented by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt are concrete. Dobrindt said a few days ago during a visit near Kiefersfelden, on Germany's border with Austria, that the number of returns of illegal migrants has increased by 45 percent. This is just one week after the Merz government took office.
739 people were turned back at the border, compared to 511 pushbacks a week ago under the old government. 32 asylum seekers were also turned back at the border, out of a total of 51 people who applied for asylum at the border. But 19 people from this group were allowed to enter Germany because they were members of vulnerable groups.
Border measures not symbolic
Some media outlets have written that the previous Scholz government also recently carried out mass returns and that the current measures are symbolic. But the Scholz government's steps to curb illegal migration to Germany have also been noted and mentioned in the Bundestag by the conservative unionist parties.
On Friday (23.05.) it was announced that in the first three months of this year, the previous Scholz government turned back 6,151 illegal migrants at the border. They were mainly sent back to Turkey, Georgia, France, Spain, Serbia and Iraq.
German Interior Minister Dobrindt said that the current measures are not just for show, as the government is accused by the far-right party, for example, the AfD. This is confirmed by the fact that over 3,000 police officers have been added to the border, among other things. Helicopters, drones and thermal imaging cameras have also been used to detect illegal migrants.
The Minister of Interior said that not every border crossing has a police officer, but one could be deployed. This is done to disorient human traffickers.
Contacts with neighbors for refugee return
Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a congress of his CDU party branch in Stuttgart on Saturday (May 17) that he had "talked to everyone" of the neighbors. He added that "everyone knows what we are aiming for." Merz told the audience: "Don't let anyone tell you that this is directed against our European neighbors."
The German Chancellor emphasized that "we want to solve this problem together (with our neighbors - ed.), but we cannot accept that a large part of the unresolved problem reaches the Federal Republic of Germany." An example that the media brings up this week is refugees from the Middle East and Asia. These refugees, for example, Belarus sends to Poland, from where many then come to Germany.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Jens Spahn, said on Tuesday (20.05.) that even if there is "anger" from neighbors: citizens in Germany should be able to see "with satisfaction what is happening on our borders."
Pressure to reduce the number of migrants to Germany
According to recent polls, migration is a concern for Germans, but they are even more concerned about the economy.
It is a fact that many municipalities and cities in Germany complain about a lack of capacity to cope with the large number of migrants coming to Germany at once.
That's why Chancellor Merz declared in Stuttgart that the government will ensure that cities and municipalities have air to breathe again, and that Germany is once again an open, tolerant and friendly country towards foreigners.
At the same time, addressing the far-right AfD party, Merz said: anyone who wants to "live and work" in Germany is welcome and "in the right place."
It is also a fact that the AfD has successfully used migration as a topic against German governments. It constantly accuses German governments of not having control over the influx of refugees into Germany. This continues, especially after the attacks carried out by foreigners in Aschaffenburg and Munich in January and February of this year.
The AfD aims to come first in Germany's 2029 parliamentary elections. An AfD victory, Merz declared earlier this year, would mean "undermining the democratic foundations" of Germany. He recalled Adolf Hitler's rise to power and said that for Germany, "one year 1933 is enough."
Reactions to the return of migrants
Germany's neighbors, such as Poland and Luxembourg, and Switzerland, have expressed reservations about the return of refugees at the border from Germany. The mayors of the German border town of Kehl and the French city of Strasbourg even sent a letter to Chancellor Merz on Wednesday (May 21). In it, they complain that border controls are economically burdensome and make it difficult for workers to move back and forth.
But other countries, including Denmark, have shown understanding for Germany's measures. However, Germany's neighboring countries have generally readmitted people who entered Germany illegally from their territory.
Legal basis for the returns of illegal migrants
Minister Dobrindt recently told the Bundestag that the German government uses a combined legal basis for returns, based on national legislation: Article 18.2 of the German Asylum Act; combined with Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, on "maintaining public order and safeguarding internal security". Article 72 allows member states flexibility in implementing certain EU rules, in order to maintain national public order and protect internal security.
It is noteworthy that the European Article 72 replaces, in practice, the well-known Dublin Directive. It is known that according to Dublin, asylum seekers must be accepted once in a country, and then it must be determined which country is responsible for them. On the basis of the Dublin Directive, the previous German government sent back thousands of illegal migrants in the first months of this year. Solving the problem of illegal migrants remains a pan-European challenge. Chancellor Merz said in Stuttgart that these problems must be solved "step by step"./ DW (A2 Televizion)
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