After deciding to turn migrants back already at the border, Germany has symbolically closed a chapter opened in 2015. In an attempt to stop the "unbearable pressure" on the system, Berlin is ignoring criticism from Brussels and its own coalition
New German Interior Minister Aleksander Dobrint introduced border returns for allotment applicants political asylum. Legally and politically, this measure is disputed.
The new German Minister of the Interior, Christian Democrat Alexander Dobrint, ordered the tightening of control of Germany's borders. At the same time, people seeking political asylum in Germany should be returned from the border, if they do not have valid travel documents or if they have already requested asylum in another EU country. Dobrint said that the German Federal Police now has the option of returning such persons from the border, but is not obliged to do so. Therefore, the police will decide on a case-by-case basis, it says Deutsche says.
It was determined that pregnant women, sick people, unaccompanied minors and other members of vulnerable groups will be spared from this measure.
How does Dobrint explain these measures?
This is the main pre-election promise of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, that from the first day in power, returns from the German borders will begin. The chancellor's chief of staff, Torsten Frei, told German television's First Program (ARD) that migration must be reduced to a "tolerable measure". Numerous cities and municipalities have been complaining for years that education and health care are overburdened, that costs have exploded in the rental housing market.
The Minister of the Interior clearly hopes that with this measure he will contribute to the migrants' decision not to even try to enter Germany in this way. At the same time, this measure should motivate neighboring countries - all of which are members of the European Union - to stop migrants on their way to Germany. Torsten Fry said that these measures became necessary because until now they could not sufficiently protect the EU's external borders.
What is the legal basis for decisions?
Returning from the border is legally disputed. Article 18 of the German Asylum Act reads: "A foreigner is prohibited from entering the country, if he comes from a safe third country." Since Germany is surrounded by members of the European Union, it borders safe countries.
European rules, however, provide that it must first be established which country is competent for the request for the grant of asylum. As a rule, it is the EU member state that the migrant first entered. However, the fact is that many of them travel to Germany and, based on a complicated procedure, then stay in the country.
An alternative solution is written in Article 72 of the Treaty on the EU, according to which it is possible to temporarily depart from the European legal regulation when it comes to "preservation of public order and internal security". However, the criteria for application are high. German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said in Brussels: "No one in the German government, not even me personally, has declared an emergency."
The former president of the German Constitutional Court, Hans-Jürgen Papier, believes that the return from the borders is in accordance with the law. He told the German media: "I see it this way, that it is the inalienable sovereign right of the state not to allow every person who utters the word 'asylum' to enter the country. According to German laws, this is possible and correct - as well as according to European laws."
Political reactions in Germany
As expected, some find these measures insufficient, while others consider that they have gone too far.
Katarina Drege, one of the chairpersons of the Green parliamentary group, told the daily Rheinische Post that returning from the border is "obviously contrary to European law". She added: "People who request asylum on German territory have the right to have that request reviewed."
At the Congress of the Left, the head of their caucus in the Bundestag, Seren Pelman, harshly criticized these measures: "Whoever implements right-wing policies out of fear of the right-wing can only lose." He added that the Left will strongly oppose such a policy.
The Social Democrats, coalition partners in the government led by the Christian Democrats, demand better cooperation with neighboring countries, which are not enthusiastic about these measures.
The partly extreme right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) demands even tougher measures. Party chief Alice Weidel said Mertz had promised a turnaround in migration policy with "clear measures against illegal mass immigration" and had now disappointed voters and caved in to the Social Democrats.
Reactions from abroad
Neighboring countries such as Poland and Switzerland have expressed concern over Germany's actions, fearing that they will have to take in the large number of people that Germany now turns back from its borders. However, German Chancellor Mertz emphasized on Friday in Brussels: "This is not an exclusively German procedure. We have coordination with our European neighbors."
Apparently, the German Government understands the introduction of these measures as an incentive for the EU to act similarly. Torsten Frei told ARD that the German government wants to achieve results quickly, so that "if possible European" measures can be introduced in the migration policy.
What next?
The European Union has long had a liberal policy towards migrants, but now it is clearly moving in the opposite direction. This is obviously also happening because in more and more member countries, parties that are critical of the policy of granting asylum are gaining strength.
The European Union has already passed a stricter law on asylum, but it has not yet been implemented. The planned reform of the European legislation foresees that even at the external borders of the European Union decisions can be made on the asylum requests of persons who do not have great prospects of staying in a country of the Union.
Torsten Fry criticized the agreed European reform, saying that it is not only coming too late but also insufficient. He added that 16 countries have called on the EU Commission to revise the agreed rules.
The current situation in Germany has its roots in decisions from 2015. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Interior Minister Thomas Demezieres (both from the Christian Democratic Union, CDU, as well as the new Chancellor Mertz) decided at the height of the refugee wave from Syria in 2015 not to return asylum seekers from the border. Now Dobrint has overturned that 2015 decision.
What is the balance sheet so far?
Immediately after Dobrint's directive, it began to be implemented on Thursday and Friday. The German boulevard newspaper Bild quotes from the first balance sheet in its edition on Sundays. According to these allegations, the police registered 365 illegal entries into the country, and 286 migrants were sent back across the border. Among them are 19 who have submitted a request for the granting of political asylum. The main reasons for returning people from borders are the lack of a valid visa, falsified documents or a previously imposed entry ban. Four people were assessed as members of vulnerable groups and were allowed to enter the country.
The paper states that 14 smugglers were arrested in two days, that 48 arrest warrants were executed and that nine people from extremist or Islamist milieu were discovered trying to enter the country.
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