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GERMANY AND ITALY

Elon Musk slams German-funded migrants rescue Med operations

Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday waded into German politics at a time of a heated debate on immigration across Europe, saying Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an "invasion" of Italy.

Published: 30 September 2023 17:12 CEST
SpaceX, Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on at a conference in Paris in June 2023
X CEO Elon Musk looks on at a conference in Paris in June 2023. Photo: Alain JOCARD / AFP

Musk, who was born in South Africa, has Canadian nationality and lives in the United States, shared a post calling for a victory of the far-right party AfD a week before regional elections in two major German states.

As the German foreign ministry hit back, he intensified his criticisms, saying that “if a government in a democracy goes against the will of the people, it should be voted out.”

Berlin is locked a row with Italy over the NGO sea operations, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday demanding that charity ships disembark the rescued migrants in their own countries.

Musk shared a post on X by a user identified as “Radio Genoa” that blasted German NGO operations in the Mediterranean and expressed hope that “AfD wins the elections to stop this European suicide”.

To Musk’s question if the “German public is aware of this”, the German foreign ministry replied curtly: “Yes. And it’s called saving lives.”

The foreign ministry’s answer prompted the social media platform’s boss to sharpen his criticism, writing in another post early Saturday: “Frankly, I doubt that a majority of the German public supports this.

READ ALSO: Why are some Germans turning towards the far-right?

“Have you run a poll? Surely it is a violation of the sovereignty of Italy for Germany to transport vast numbers of illegal immigrants to Italian soil?

Has invasion vibes,” Musk added.

‘Amazement’

Meloni recently wrote a letter of complaint to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to express her “amazement” about Berlin funding charities helping irregular migrants in her country.

Asked about the letter, Berlin confirmed that it was providing between 400,000 euros and 800,000 euros each to two projects relating to migrants.

The projects were “for the support on land in Italy of people rescued at sea and an NGO project for sea-rescue operations”.

At a press conference this week following talks with her Italian counterpart, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended Berlin’s backing of rescue missions.

“Volunteer sea rescuers have a life-saving task in the Mediterranean,” she said.

“They are committed to countering the deaths in the Mediterranean with humanity, precisely because the European joint sea rescue service Mare Nostrum no longer exists,” she added, referring to the Italian government’s year-long operation which rescued more than 100,000 migrants before ending in 2014.

More than 130,000 migrants have arrived on Italy’s shores so far this year, almost double the number last year, according to interior ministry figures.

In Germany too, new arrival numbers have risen sharply, prompting Berlin to announce Wednesday that it would step up policing of its borders with Poland and the Czech Republic, in a bid to stop people smugglers.

READ ALSO: Germany to tighten controls on Polish and Czech borders as migrant numbers rise

Ahead of regional elections on October 8 in the states of Bavaria and Hesse, immigration has also emerged as a key topic, with Bavarians citing it as the most important subject in a latest poll.

Scholz acknowledged in an interview with newspaper group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that the numbers of asylum seekers is “currently too high”.

His government is “completely in agreement that irregular migration in the European Union should be stopped,” he said in the interview published Thursday.

“That can only be done together and with solidarity,” the chancellor said, underlining that he backed action to protect the EU’s borders.

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IMMIGRATION

Refugees found clinging to coach in Bavaria shines light on German asylum policies

A couple of stowaways were caught riding under a bus after one fell onto the Autobahn in Bavaria. The story highlights how difficult the immigration journey, and legal process can be for immigrants hoping to seek asylum in Germany.

Published: 13 May 2024 11:59 CEST
Refugees found clinging to coach in Bavaria shines light on German asylum policies

Germany has seen a massive influx of refugees in recent years, due primarily to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine but also continued conflicts in parts of West Asia and Eastern Europe. 

A recent story has highlighted the often dangerous routes and lengths that asylum seekers go to in their bid to come to Germany, as the government has tightened policies on asylum seekers.

On Sunday, two refugees hid under a bus travelling through Bavaria and were only discovered after one of them fell onto the A99 motorway in the district of Ebersberg (east of Munich).

A woman driving behind the bus was able to brake quick enough to avoid hitting the man.

Alerted by the driver behind, the bus stopped shortly afterwards at Vaterstetten where a second man then emerged from under the bus.

The police reported on Sunday that the men involved were only slightly injured from the incident. Both men were taken to hospital. 

The two men are 26-year-old asylum seekers from Morocco. 

It was unclear how long they had ridden under the bus or how exactly they managed to do so. But authorities suggested they must have positioned themselves near the exhaust system, because they were covered in soot. 

How many asylum seekers come to Germany?

The story has shone a light on the often perilous situations asylum seekers coming to Germany find themselves in.

According to Germany’s statistical office (Destatis), at the end of 2022 more than 3 million people were registered as seeking asylum in the country – more than a million more than in 2021.

Of those, more than one million were Ukrainians. Additionally, the number of other foreign nationals seeking asylum amounted to more than two million for the first time.

The number of asylum seekers who are granted benefits, however, is substantially less. At the end of 2021, roughly 399,000 people in Germany received standard benefits in accordance with the Act on Benefits for Asylum Seekers (AsylbLG), according to Destatis. 

For migrants coming from northern Africa, the route to Europe involves crossing the Mediterranean Sea, which is known to be among the deadliest border crossings in the world.

When these migrants succeed in landing in a European country they are legally required to apply for asylum at their point of entry. But asylum applications are known to take a long time, and come with requirements that some migrants are unable to prove.

Many people decide to head to their destination country without registering. 

According to Bavarian government figures, in the first quarter of 2024 police detected more than 600 unauthorised entries or re-entries (people crossing the border illegally) at Bavaria’s state borders.

Immigration has become a heated political topic in Germany

According to the largest annual study on people’s perception of democracy (conducted by Alliance of Democracies), Germany has the highest proportion of voters who think focusing on reducing immigration should be politicians top priority, at 44 percent.

In response to these concerns, German leaders have initiated policy changes that appear to some like a reversal of the country’s previous willingness to accept asylum seekers.

One recent measure, passed by the Bundestag in April, will end cash benefits for asylum seekers in Germany and instead transfer these benefits to a card-based system. Lawmakers say the move is intended to prevent refugees from sending money out of the country, but critics contend that it will further disenfranchise people who are already in precarious situations.

READ ALSO: Why asylum seekers in Germany will soon have limited access to cash

In an interview with Der Spiegel in October 2023, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the federal government is working hard to limit “irregular migration”. He cited a number of measures including stricter border controls. 

That interview, which was printed with the headline “We have to deport people more often and faster”, came as a shock to advocates of asylum protections. It appeared to some that Scholz had reversed his position, perhaps in response to polls that suggested right-wing parties’ tough immigration policies were winning votes.

A foundational part of the traffic-light coalition government’s plan included a streamlining of Germany’s immigration process. Scholz had called Germany “an immigration country” while speaking about plans to overhaul the citizenship application process.

While Germany’s well-known lack of skilled workers has compelled leaders to streamline the immigration process for some, the country’s willing acceptance of refugee immigrants which was championed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel since 2015, seems to be running out.

READ ALSO: The Syrian refugee who became mayor of a German village

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