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Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
German Cabinet approves stricter asylum measures
Representative Image (AI-generated) The German Cabinet on Wednesday approved several measures to tighten Germany's asylum laws, including a plan to make it easier to determine "safe countries of origin" and thus to deport rejected asylum-seekers. This comes after another policy put in place by interior minister Alexander Dobrindt — allowing police to send back asylum-seekers at the border without assessment of their cases according to the Dublin procedure — was deemed unlawful by the Administrative Court in Berlin. What did the Cabinet decide? Dobrindt, a conservative politician from the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), would like to see the government made solely responsible in the future for deciding which countries should be categorized as "safe countries of origin." Under his plan, no approval from Germany's upper house of parliament, or Bundesrat, which represents the 16 federal states, would be required anymore to decide whether there is persecution in a country that would justify granting asylum to people from there. This would reduce the number of people eligible for asylum and make it easier to deport rejected asylum-seekers to their home countries if these were put in the "safe" category. The Cabinet also approved the abolition of a rule calling for people in pre-deportation custody to be automatically be assigned a lawyer by the state. This rule was adopted under the previous Social Democrat-led coalition government at the behest of the Green Party. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Dobrindt said, "These are essential steps that are part of a whole raft of measures to bring about the asylum transformation." The reforms approved by the Cabinet, which are all contained in the government's coalition agreement, still need approval by the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Tougher migration policy faces legal challenges Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who leads the current German coalition government of his conservative CDU/CSU bloc with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), has vowed to crack down on irregular migration — a policy seen by many as a bid to reduce support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been gaining in popularity. His efforts suffered a setback on Monday with the court ruling on border pushbacks but has vowed to continue with the policy "within the framework of existing European law." Criticism from legal experts, human rights groups: Further criticism has also come from legal experts and from human rights groups. The German Bar Association (DAV) argued on Wednesday that the proposed reform of rules governing the definition of "safe countries" would unnecessarily complicate asylum regulations. Christoph Tometten, the DVA's expert for migration law, said that because the planned reform applied to EU law and not the right to asylum enshrined in the German constitution, there would be "unnecessarily complex differentiations" that needed to be made by administrations and courts. This would mean that asylum proceedings could become longer rather than shorter, he said. He was referring to the fact that the German constitution requires the Bundesrat to be involved in categorizing "safe countries," while an EU guideline allows member states to define them by decree — a guideline the German government is taking to argue its case. German refugee advocacy group Pro Asyl called the actions of the government "undemocratic and constitutionally questionable." The organization's spokeswoman on legal policy, Wiebke Judith, said, "The determination of allegedly safe countries of origin and third countries makes it more difficult for endangered people to receive the protection they are really entitled to."
DW
6 days ago
- General
- DW
German Cabinet approves stricter asylum measures – DW – 06/04/2025
The German government has proposed several new measures as it pushes on with plans to further curb irregular migration. This comes despite a legal setback this week when a court ruled pushbacks at the border unlawful. The German Cabinet on Wednesday approved several measures to tighten Germany's asylum laws, including a plan to make it easier to determine "safe countries of origin" and thus to deport rejected asylum-seekers. This comes after another policy put in place by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt — allowing police to send back asylum-seekers at the border without assessment of their cases according to the Dublin procedure — was deemed unlawful by the Administrative Court in Berlin. What did the Cabinet decide? Dobrindt, a conservative politician from the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), would like to see the government made solely responsible in the future for deciding which countries should be categorized as "safe countries of origin." Under his plan, no approval from Germany's upper house of parliament, or Bundesrat, which represents the 16 federal states, would be required anymore to decide whether there is persecution in a country that would justify granting asylum to people from there. This would reduce the number of people eligible for asylum and make it easier to deport rejected asylum-seekers to their home countries if these were put in the "safe" category. The Cabinet also approved the abolition of a rule calling for people in pre-deportation custody to be automatically be assigned a lawyer by the state. This rule was adopted under the previous Social Democrat-led coalition government at the behest of the Green Party. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Dobrindt said, "These are essential steps that are part of a whole raft of measures to bring about the asylum transformation." The reforms approved by the Cabinet, which are all contained in the government's coalition agreement, still need approval by the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Tougher migration policy faces legal challenges Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who leads the current German coalition government of his conservative CDU/CSU bloc with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), has vowed to crack down on irregular migration — a policy seen by many as a bid to reduce support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been gaining in popularity. His efforts suffered a setback on Monday with the court ruling on border pushbacks but has vowed to continue with the policy "within the framework of existing European law." Criticism from legal experts, human rights groups Further criticism has also come from legal experts and from human rights groups. The German Bar Association (DAV) argued on Wednesday that the proposed reform of rules governing the definition of "safe countries" would unnecessarily complicate asylum regulations. Christoph Tometten, the DVA's expert for migration law, said that because the planned reform applied to EU law and not the right to asylum enshrined in the German constitution, there would be "unnecessarily complex differentiations" that needed to be made by administrations and courts. This would mean that asylum proceedings could become longer rather than shorter, he said. He was referring to the fact that the German constitution requires the Bundesrat to be involved in categorizing "safe countries," while an EU guideline allows member states to define them by decree — a guideline the German government is taking to argue its case. German refugee advocacy group Pro Asyl called the actions of the government "undemocratic and constitutionally questionable." The organization's spokeswoman on legal policy, Wiebke Judith, said, "The determination of allegedly safe countries of origin and third countries makes it more difficult for endangered people to receive the protection they are really entitled to." Edited by: Wesley Rahn
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Germany is finally getting a new government – and it will be plunged straight into crisis mode
Germany is about to get a new fitness trainer. So declared Markus Söder, one of the political leaders who have just announced a coalition agreement. In one of the quirks of the country's constitution, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) will play a significant role in the new administration, and Söder used his moment in the limelight to play the entertainer. It was a curious way to announce the arrival of a new government, expected to be sworn in during the first week of May. Since the elections of 23 February, Germany will have been in limbo for two and a half months, and all while Donald Trump rampages across the world. The circumstances could not be more inauspicious. The new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, must deal with an out-of-control United States, Russia taking advantage of the mayhem by feigning interest in a peace deal while making further military inroads in Ukraine, and China increasing influence as anti-US sentiment increases. Domestically, Germany's economy, already stuttering, faces the 20% US tariffs imposed across the European Union, plus further punitive levies on its all-important auto industry. To compound it all, a few hours before the Christian Democrats (CDU)/CSU and Social Democrats (SPD) took to the stage to seal their deal, an opinion poll put the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the lead for the first time. All of this will concentrate minds. Germany and Europe can't afford a repeat of the last coalition, which foundered amid acrimony and under the lacklustre leadership of Olaf Scholz. The stakes were high then; they are stratospherically higher now. 'Germany is getting a government that is capable of action and is strong,' said Merz. 'We will govern well together,' he added, as he looked smilingly towards the SPD leader and probable next deputy chancellor and finance minister, Lars Klingbeil. It is an unlikely bromance, but they will have to get on. As both pointed out, the 'political centre', as Germans call mainstream parties, must show it can work. Otherwise the AfD is waiting in the wings for the next election, due by 2029 at the latest. During the negotiations, which were carried out with little turbulence and few leaks, Merz was accused by party hardliners of giving away too much to the SPD. The result, as set out in the coalition agreement, is a necessary compromise, which as ever leaves all sides feeling they have won some and yielded some. Merz has secured tougher immigration controls – checks at borders, no family for the first two years, and five years rather than three for citizenship applications. Corporation tax will be reduced. Rules around the minimum income guarantee will be tightened. Klingbeil and his team have preserved increases to the minimum wage and other welfare measures. All parties were agreed on their approach to Ukraine and Russia. The introduction of a national security council within the chancellery to deal with the many emergencies the country faces is a welcome if belated move. Some form of national military service will be reintroduced, but it is expected to be opt-in, with benefits for participants, rather than compulsory. The climate crisis barely got a mention. Everyone is talking the talk about modernisation and removing bureaucracy. A new digitisation ministry is designed to kickstart Germany's lamentable digital provision. Will this analogue and cash-based society finally join the modern world? As ever in modern Germany, gloom has enveloped the country. Some of it is understandable – a country that craves stability is having to come to terms with a world more on edge than at any time since the formation of the Federal Republic in 1949. Yet much of it is self-indulgent. Having just voted in a general election, with the highest turnout since reunification in 1990, and having ensured a relatively stable two-party coalition (the CSU is not seen as a separate entity), Germans have turned on Merz before he has even been given the seals of office. His biggest 'crime' was to force constitutional changes through the outgoing parliament rather than waiting for the new one to be formed. He knew he had to do this, as the far right and radical left would have voted the changes down. In so doing, he has paved the way for an injection of more spending on defence and an injection of €500bn to tackle the country's ailing infrastructure. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion As I wrote a few weeks ago, he used unprincipled means for principled ends, and he, the SPD and the Greens should be lauded for pushing it through. Even in these desperately difficult times, and despite its fraught beginnings, this coalition could work. Merz and Klingbeil seem to work well; Boris Pistorius, the popular defence minister, is expected to stay in his job, providing much-needed stability. Under Scholz, Germany was absent without leave. The EU was rudderless. The economy atrophied. Just over two months after the last government took over, Vladimir Putin had invaded Ukraine, and all the parties' preparations were torn apart. This time, darkness has descended even before the work has begun. There will be no honeymoon for Merz, no first 100 days. It is hard to imagine an accession as fraught as this one. This will be the last time anyone cracks jokes. John Kampfner is the author of In Search of Berlin, Blair's Wars and Why the Germans Do It Better
