Latest news with #AlternativeForGermany
Arab News
3 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Germany's Merz says court ruling will not stop migration crackdown
BERLIN: Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday a court ruling that German authorities acted unlawfully when border police expelled three Somali asylum seekers could restrict his government's migration crackdown but would not stop it altogether. People would continue to be turned away at the German border, he said. A Berlin administrative court said on Monday the expulsion of the three unnamed Somalis, who were sent back to Poland after arriving at a train station in eastern Germany, was 'unlawful.' It said the asylum application should have been processed by Germany under the European Union's so-called Dublin rules that determine which country is responsible for processing a claim. The ruling was a setback for Merz's government, which won a federal election in February after promising a crackdown on migration that has caused concern in neighboring countries. The court ruling has 'possibly further restricted the scope for maneuver here,' Merz told a local government congress. 'But the scope is still there. We know that we can still reject people.' 'We will, of course, do this within the framework of European law, but we will also do it to protect public safety and order in our country and to relieve the burden on cities and municipalities,' he said. Migration is among German voters' biggest concerns and a backlash against an influx of new arrivals has contributed to a rise in the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which came second in February's election. It is a big shift since Germany's 'Refugees Welcome' culture during Europe's migrant crisis in 2015 under Merz's conservative predecessor, Angela Merkel. Merz's government issued an order in May to reject undocumented migrants, including asylum seekers, at Germany's borders. Monday's ruling was seized on by critics as evidence that Merz's migration policy was unworkable. 'The administrative court has determined that Dobrindt's policy of rejecting asylum seekers is unlawful, contrary to European law, and now the Federal Ministry of the Interior should really start thinking about how to finally put an end to this nonsense,' Karl Kopp of the pro-immigration advocacy group Pro Asyl told Reuters. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the expulsions, saying he would provide the court with justifications for banning entry.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Germany's Merz says court ruling will not stop migration crackdown
BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday a court ruling that German authorities acted unlawfully when border police expelled three Somali asylum seekers could restrict his government's migration crackdown but would not stop it altogether. People would continue to be turned away at the German border, he said. A Berlin administrative court said on Monday the expulsion of the three unnamed Somalis, who were sent back to Poland after arriving at a train station in eastern Germany, was "unlawful". It said the asylum application should have been processed by Germany under the European Union's so-called Dublin rules that determine which country is responsible for processing a claim. The ruling was a setback for Merz's government, which won a federal election in February after promising a crackdown on migration that has caused concern in neighbouring countries. The court ruling has "possibly further restricted the scope for manoeuvre here," Merz told a local government congress. "But the scope is still there. We know that we can still reject people." "We will, of course, do this within the framework of European law, but we will also do it to protect public safety and order in our country and to relieve the burden on cities and municipalities," he said. Migration is among German voters' biggest concerns and a backlash against an influx of new arrivals has contributed to a rise in the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which came second in February's election. It is a big shift since Germany's "Refugees Welcome" culture during Europe's migrant crisis in 2015 under Merz's conservative predecessor, Angela Merkel. Merz's government issued an order in May to reject undocumented migrants, including asylum seekers, at Germany's borders. Monday's ruling was seized on by critics as evidence that Merz's migration policy was unworkable. "The administrative court has determined that Dobrindt's policy of rejecting asylum seekers is unlawful, contrary to European law, and now the Federal Ministry of the Interior should really start thinking about how to finally put an end to this nonsense," Karl Kopp of the pro-immigration advocacy group Pro Asyl told Reuters. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the expulsions, saying he would provide the court with justifications for banning entry.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
German court rules asylum seekers unlawfully expelled at Polish border
A Berlin court has ruled that Germany violated asylum law when it deported three Somali nationals at its border with Poland in a decision that challenges Chancellor Friedrich Merz's aggressive new migration stance. The three asylum seekers – two men and one woman – were turned back by border police at a train station in Frankfurt an der Oder, a city on Germany's eastern border. 'The applicants could not demand to enter Germany beyond the border crossing,' the court said in a statement on Monday. 'However, the rejection was unlawful because Germany is obliged to process their claims.' Officials cited the asylum seekers' arrival from a 'safe third country' as grounds for their refusal. But the court determined the expulsion was illegal under European Union rules, specifically the Dublin regulation, which requires Germany to assess asylum claims if it is the responsible state under the agreement. It marks the first such legal ruling since Merz's conservative-led coalition took office in February, riding a wave of anti-immigration sentiment that has helped boost the far-right Alternative for Germany party, now the country's second largest political force in parliament. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the deportations, saying the asylum system was failing under pressure. 'The numbers are too high. We are sticking to our practice,' he told reporters, adding that the court would receive legal justifications for the government's position. But opposition lawmakers were quick to capitalise on the ruling. Irene Mihalic of the Greens called it 'a severe defeat' for Merz's government, accusing it of overstepping its powers 'for populist purposes'. 'The border blockades were a rejection of the European Dublin system and have offended our European neighbours,' she said. Karl Kopp, managing director of Pro Asyl, an immigration advocacy group, said the expulsion of the Somalis reflected an 'unlawful practice of national unilateral action' in asylum policy and called for their return to Germany, the Reuters news agency reported. The ruling also casts doubt on Merz's wider migration agenda. In May, his government introduced a directive to turn back undocumented people at Germany's borders, including those seeking asylum – a sharp departure from former Chancellor Angela Merkel's more open policy during the 2015 migrant crisis. Last month, the European Commission proposed a bloc-wide mechanism that would permit member states to reject asylum seekers who passed through a 'safe' third country. The measure, widely criticised by rights groups, still awaits approval from national parliaments and the European legislature.
Russia Today
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
German spies grant AfD reprieve
Germany's domestic intelligence agency has temporarily suspended its classification of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a 'confirmed right-wing extremist' group, pending the outcome of a legal appeal. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) suspended the label on Thursday and removed a press release about the designation from its website. The classification, which was announced by the BfV last week, was based on a comprehensive report alleging that the AfD promotes policies excluding individuals with migrant backgrounds, particularly Muslims, from full societal participation. The BfV claimed that the party 'disregards human dignity' and uses terms such as 'knife-wielding migrants' to ascribe violent tendencies to non-European ethnic groups. The AfD leadership condemned the decision as 'a severe blow to German democracy' and filed a lawsuit in a Cologne court, arguing that the classification was politically motivated and lacked sufficient evidence. As a result, the BfV temporarily withdrew the classification, but said it would monitor the party as a 'suspected case' of an extremist organization. The suspended designation would have empowered the BfV to carry out broad surveillance of the AfD's activities. The lower-level designation also allows surveillance, but under stricter judicial oversight. AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla welcomed the temporary suspension, calling it 'a first important step' that will help 'counter the accusation of right-wing extremism.' The 'extremist' label was met with skepticism by many German politicians. Then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and incoming Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned against banning the AfD. Dobrindt has argued that the party should be made irrelevant through good governance rather than drastic measures. He also insisted on a discussion over the reasons that the AfD has risen to prominence, referring to recent polls indicating that it has become the most popular party in Germany, reaching 26% support. The AfD's surge has often been attributed to public frustration over the immigration policies of the mainstream parties, as well as economic challenges and perceived government ineffectiveness.
NHK
06-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Merz fails to be elected German chancellor in first-round voting
In Germany, Friedrich Merz failed to secure a majority needed to become chancellor in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday. This is the first time that a chancellor has not been elected in the first vote. Merz is the candidate for the alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union, which won the general election in February. He was expected to win a majority with support from lawmakers of the Social Democratic Party, a coalition partner of the CDU/CSU. But Merz fell six votes short. German public broadcaster ZDF reported that some members of the Social Democratic Party may have voted against Merz, as his bloc pushed a motion to tighten immigration rules to pass parliament in January with the help of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. It is not known who voted against Merz. The Basic Law, the country's constitution, stipulates that parliament can hold a new round of voting within two weeks.
