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Berlin government wants to speed up German citizenship process

Berlin's returning SPD, Greens and Left government has laid out plans to grant more than double the current number of citizenships per year.

Published: 17 November 2021 11:51 CET
Two men recieve German citizenship documents in Berlin
Two men recieve their German citizenship documents in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Photo: picture-alliance/ dpa/dpaweb | Miguel Villagran

In their next term, the coalition plans to ramp up the number of citizenships granted to 20,000 per year – a significant jump from the current annual figure of 7,000.

To achieve the new annual targets, the parties say they will make the process of gaining citizenship both quicker and more digital for applicants.

Announcing the plans on Monday, the Social Democrat’s state party leader Franziska Giffey revealed that around 400,000 permanent residents of Berlin currently meet the conditions for obtaining German citizenship.

However, many face long waits due to the current speed of processing applications, which often varies depending on the district.

Giffey also hinted at Monday’s press conference that the next administration could also transfer responsibility for granting citizenships from the borough to the city level – though this has not yet been confirmed.

Such a move would help standardise waiting times for citizenship applications regardless of where people live within the city.

“We want a functioning city for everyone who lives here,” said Bettina Jarasch, state party leader of the Greens. “That also applies to those who don’t yet have a German passport, and those who have immigrated here.”

The news of the citizenship targets in Berlin comes as Germany’s likely next government thrashes out a coalition agreement that could see them liberalise citizenship and naturalisation law.

If coalition talks between the SPD, Greens and FDP succeed, the residency requirements for citizenship could be shortened in Germany – a change that could see a greater number of people become eligible for citizenship in the coming years.

In addition, the parties have laid out initial plans for ending the ban on dual citizenship.

READ ALSO: What Germany’s coalition plans mean for immigration and citizenship

Migration advisory council

In the course of their next term, the Berlin coalition also plans to set up a new council that will tasked with advising the government on the potential room for manoeuvre in German immigration law and migrants’ right of residence.

They also plan to agree a quota for accepting refugees in need of special protection, such as mothers with children. This number would be in the “low three-digit range”, according to Giffey.

Following the state elections on September 26th, the SPD, Left and Green parties have been in talks to form another so-called red-red-green coaliton, named after each of the parties’ colours.

On Friday, they will be thrashing out a shared policy on the hotly debated topic of affordable housing, the parties also revealed.

READ ALSO: Berlin’s super election day: What does it mean for the city’s housing shortage?

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GERMANY AND RUSSIA

Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

Germany and the Czech Republic on Friday blamed Russia for a series of recent cyberattacks, prompting the European Union to warn Moscow of consequences over its "malicious behaviour in cyberspace".

Published: 4 May 2024 10:29 CEST
Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

The accusations come at a time of strained relations between Moscow and the West following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the European Union’s support for Kyiv.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a newly concluded government investigation found that a cyberattack targeting members of the Social Democratic Party had been carried out by a group known as APT28.

APT28 “is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia”, Baerbock told reporters during a visit to Australia.

“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyberattack on Germany and this is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences.”

APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been accused of dozens of cyberattacks in countries around the world. Russia denies being behind such actions.

The hacking attack on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party was made public last year. Hackers exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook to compromise e-mail accounts, according to Berlin.

Berlin on Friday summoned the acting charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy over the incident.

The Russian embassy in Germany said its envoy “categorically rejected the accusations that Russian state structures were involved in the given incident… as unsubstantiated and groundless”.

Arms, aerospace targeted: Berlin 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the cyber campaign was orchestrated by Russia’s military intelligence service GRU and began in 2022. It also targeted German companies in the armaments and aerospace sectors, she said.

Such cyberattacks are “a threat to our democracy, national security and our free societies”, she told a joint news conference in Prague with her Czech counterpart Vit Rakusan.

“We are calling on Russia again to stop these activities,” Faeser added.

Czech government officials said some of its state institutions had also been the target of cyberattacks blamed on APT28, again by exploiting a weakness in Microsoft Outlook in 2023.

Czech Interior Minister Rakusan said his country’s infrastructure had recently experienced “higher dozens” of such attacks.

“The Czech Republic is a target. In the long term, it has been perceived by the Russian Federation as an enemy state,” he told reporters.

EU, NATO condemnation

The German and Czech findings triggered strong condemnation from the European Union.

“The malicious cyber campaign shows Russia’s continuous pattern of irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace, by targeting democratic institutions, government entities and critical infrastructure providers across the European Union and beyond,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said.

The EU would “make use of the full spectrum of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behaviour in cyberspace”, he added.

State institutions, agencies and entities in other member states including in Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden had been targeted by APT28 in the past, the statement added.

The latest accusations come a day after NATO expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s “hybrid actions” including disinformation, sabotage and cyber interference.

The row also comes as millions of Europeans prepare to go to the polls for the European Parliament elections in June, and concerns about foreign meddling are running high.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told AFP that “pointing a finger publicly at a specific attacker is an important tool to protect national interests”.

One of the most high-profile incidents so far blamed on Fancy Bear was a cyberattack in 2015 that paralysed the computer network of the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. It forced the entire institution offline for days while it was fixed.

In 2020, the EU imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the APT28 group over the incident.

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