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IMMIGRATION

Will Germany introduce tighter border controls?

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of Germany's 16 states will debate tighter border controls and new deportation rules on Wednesday as they hold crunch talks to address soaring migration.

Published: 10 May 2023 12:46 CEST
German Polish border crossing
Cars at a German-Polish border crossing in Swinemünde, Poland. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Stefan Sauer

In the first four months of 2023, some 101,981 asylum applications were filed in Germany — an increase of 78 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

Almost 218,000 applications were filed in Germany last year — the highest number since 2015-16, with the largest number of newcomers hailing from war-torn Syria and Afghanistan, followed by Turkey and Iraq.

In addition, more than a million people arrived from Ukraine.

READ ALSO: Germany records almost a million Ukrainian refugees

Regional leaders have long been demanding more help and money to cope with the new arrivals, with many being forced to build temporary shelters.

To help ease the pressure on local authorities, the government is considering tightening border controls, according to a draft agreement seen by AFP.

“Depending on the situation, the government will… extend the existing border security concept with Austria to other borders in Germany,” it said.

Germany’s border with Austria alone currently applies fixed border controls apply to everyone passing through. Germany also borders Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.

The draft agreement also says that “to return persons who are obliged to leave the country to their countries of origin, it is necessary to improve cooperation with numerous countries of origin”.

The pro-business FDP party, part of Germany’s coalition government alongside Scholz’s SPD and the Greens, has called for the list of “safe” countries of origin to be expanded.

The document also says the government supports strengthening controls at the EU’s external borders, including the possibility of permanent border controls with other EU countries.

According to the Bild daily, a more recent version of the paper also includes proposals to speed up asylum applications and the deportation of offenders.

The recent influx of asylum seekers has coincided with a rise in support for the far-right AfD party, especially in eastern Germany.

The anti-migrant party is currently polling at around 15 percent, compared with 10.3 percent in the last general election in 2021.

READ ALSO: Why Germany is overhauling immigration laws

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IMMIGRATION

Scholz pledges to keep ‘strict controls’ on Germany’s borders

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has promised to fight 'irregular migration' by keeping stringent controls in place at several of Germany's borders.

Published: 26 July 2024 14:13 CEST
Scholz pledges to keep 'strict controls' on Germany's borders

“In general, it is our intention to continue to strictly control the German borders,” the SPD politician told the Saarbrücker Zeitung this week. He added that the numbers need to come down.

The Chancellor said labour migration was necessary and desirable. “But there are too many who come to us irregularly and claim to be seeking protection from persecution, but cannot give any reasons for asylum and are then rejected,” Scholz added.

Existing border controls, such as at checks at the border with France during the Olympic Games, will continue to apply until September 30th.

“It is our intention to continue to operate strict controls on the German borders,” Scholz said. 

At the land borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, there have been stationary check points for some time. They are planned to remain until December 15th for Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, and until November 11th for Austria.

Border controls were tightened leading up to the EURO 2024 tournament, which took place in Germany from June 14th to July 14th.

At the time, Interior Ministry Nancy Faeser (SPD) said checks would be carried out at all of Germany’s nine borders, with a focus on combatting security threats such as Islamist extremism. 

According to the German Federal Police, more than 1.6 million people were checked when crossing the border during the tournament, and a total of 9,172 unauthorised entries were detected. Of these unauthorised entries, 6,401 people were turned back. 

Scholz said the number of irregular migrants being returned to their home countries had increased by 30 percent in light of the new border measures, adding that the government has taken “practical” action to restrict irregular migration.

Alongside tighter border controls, the government has also taken steps to speed up the asylum process in order to determine which migrants have a valid claim.

Deportation debate intensified by recent events

Discussions over deportations escalated in Germany after a 25-year-old Afghan went on a knife rampage at an anti-Islam rally in the western city of Mannheim back in May. 

READ ALSO: Tensions high in Mannheim after knife attack claims life of policeman

A police officer, 29, died of his wounds after being repeatedly stabbed as he tried to intervene in the attack, while five attendees at the Pax Europa rally were injured.

clean-up in Mannheim

Members of the fire brigade clean away the blood at the scene where several people were injured in a knife attack on May 31, in Mannheim.
Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

The deadly attack sparked a furious debate over whether criminals should be returned to places like Afghanistan and Syria, even if those countries were deemed unsafe.

Scholz, who has previously voiced his support for deporting dangerous criminals to their home countries, said the government was currently working on ways to do so.

“Are we allowed to choose who comes to Germany? Yes,” the SPD politician said at the summer press conference in Berlin on Wednesday.

The Federal Government is working “very precisely” on deporting “offenders in particular” to Syria and Afghanistan, he added. 

A court in Münster recently concluded that parts of Syria were now safe for migrants to be returned to, potentially upending Germany’s long-standing asylum policy for citizens of the war-torn country. 

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