Latest news with #BerlinAdministrativeCourt
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany's Merz defends migration plans after legal setback on asylum
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday defended his government's effort to turn away asylum seekers at the country's borders, one day after a court blocked the move. The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court was a setback for Merz, who has pledged to crack down on irregular migration. Merz said in Berlin that the ruling may narrow his administration's room for manoeuvre. "But the room for manoeuvre is still there," he argued. "We know that we can still carry out [border] rejections." The chancellor, who took office last month, said the government will "of course do this within the framework of existing European law." "But we will do so in order to protect public safety and order in our country and to prevent cities and municipalities from being overburdened," he added. Until the situation at the European Union's external borders has improved significantly with the help of new common European rules, Germany "will have to maintain controls on the internal borders," Merz underlined. Shortly after taking office last month, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered police to step up border checks and turn back irregular migrants, even if they apply for asylum. In the first case to emerge over the controversial move, the court ruled in favour of three Somalis who were turned back to Poland on May 9, stating that they should have been processed under the European Union's Dublin Regulation for asylum cases. The court found that the government's evidence to proclaim a "national emergency" to justify the measure lacked sufficient evidence. Migration expert Daniel Thym said the government could yet win the main proceedings - to be held in several months' time, at the earliest - if it presents better evidence. Coalition partners examine ruling The new government's proposed clampdown on migration has caused concern among some sections of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), the junior partner in Merz's coalition. Tim Klüssendorf, the SPD's likely next general secretary, said on Tuesday that the party remains committed to its coalition agreement with Merz's conservative bloc, but it insists on complying with the law. After Monday's ruling, the coalition partners must now "take a close look at the judgement and also enter into discussions on how the agreement from the coalition agreement can now be implemented in a legally secure manner," Klüssendorf told broadcaster RTL/ntv. The court's decision was greeted by left-wing opposition parties, who have consistently argued that the government's move is illegal. Britta Hasselmann from the Greens told broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday that Merz and Dobrindt had "failed across the board" in their unilateral action, jeopardizing European cooperation and breaking the law. In contrast, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) slammed the ruling. "Anyone who negates the security interests of German citizens in this way must ask themselves whether they are actually still speaking the law in the name of the German people," the party's spokesman on domestic policy, Martin Hess, said in Berlin.
Euronews
a day ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Berlin court rules rejection of asylum seekers at borders unlawful
The Berlin Administrative Court declared on Monday that the rejection of asylum seekers at German borders to be unlawful, dealing a major blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt's migration policy. The court ruled on the case of three Somali nationals who were deported at the border with Poland, stressing that Merz's government had violated asylum laws. The court says immigrants cannot be turned away without their asylum application being examined first. The Somali nationals, two men and one woman, were turned away at a train station after requesting asylum in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder in the east of the country after arriving from Poland on 9 May. The court delivered its decision, which is not open to appeal, after considering emergency appeals from the immigrants. Judges found the foreign nationals' rejection to be unlawful as they stated that at least one of the migrants had legitimate cause for asylum. They also added that the general policy of the new conservative government was lacking legal justification. Merz's government had announced in May its new hardline migration policy which seeks to severely crackdown on irregular migrants. The new initiative pledged to completely halt the asylum process, freezing applications and turning away asylum seekers at the borders. The court says the initiative is not in line with EU immigration policy – the Dublin system. Under the system, Berlin is obligated to thoroughly examine application and make a decision on a case-by-case basis. It also mandates each member country to conduct a full-scale investigation to determine which member state is responsible for assessing the asylum claim once it's been made. 'The decision of the administrative court today states that a Dublin check must be carried out. This means that the border crossing has to take place, and Germany has to check which member state is responsible for the asylum procedure,' says Dobrindt. 'In this decision, the court stated that the justification for our measures should have been more specific. This means that we are also complying with this demand and providing more detailed reasons.' Pushbacks at the borders were a campaign promise of the new Chancellor, Merz, and Interior Minister Dobrindt, although many critical voices said they were illegal. After the court decision, at least one MP called for Dobrindt to resign. But Dobrindt insists that pushbacks will continue, adding that he believes the government does have a legal framework to support their policy. 'Incidentally, we are sticking to the pushbacks. We see that the legal basis is there and will therefore continue to proceed in this way, regardless of this individual case decision,' said Dobrindt. The new conservative federal government had tried to legally justify turning asylum seekers away at the borders through a clause in the German Asylum Act, and an article in the Treaty on the Functioning of European Union. Article 72 allows member states to suspend EU law in case of threats to public order. The Berlin court rejected the premise of invoking Article 72 citing insufficient evidence of a threat to the country.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Germany's migration crackdown in limbo as court backs asylum seekers
In a legal setback for the German government, a Berlin court ruled on Monday that rejecting asylum seekers at border checks within German territory - without first initiating proper asylum procedures - is unlawful. The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court is a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on migration. Shortly after taking office last month, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered border checks to be stepped up and advised police to turn back irregular migrants, even if they applied for asylum. In the first case to emerge over the controversial move, the court ruled in favour of three Somalis who were turned back to Poland from the border town of Frankfurt an der Oder on May 9. After the group applied for asylum, authorities returned them to Poland the same day. According to the court, the Federal Police justified the swift return - referred to as refoulement - on the basis that the individuals had arrived from a "safe third country." However, the Somali nationals challenged the decision and were successful in summary proceedings before an administrative court. The ruling found that the immediate transfer back to Poland without an adequate examination of their asylum claims was unlawful. Court rejects 'national emergency' argument The ruling stated that the case should have been handled under the European Union's so-called Dublin procedure for asylum cases. Under the Dublin Regulation, police are not allowed to simply turn asylum seekers back at the border. Instead, German authorities must initiate a complicated procedure to transfer them back to the country where they first entered the EU. The court rejected the government's argument that the regulation could be suspended due to a "national emergency," suggesting there was not "sufficient evidence of a threat to public safety or order." It said the Dublin Regulation must be carried out in every case, although it also specified that the decision does not grant migrants entry permits to Germany, as carrying out the procedure should be possible at the point of crossing. Following the court decision, the interior minister maintained that the policy is consistent with efforts to reduce irregular migration and is legally justified, despite the court's findings. "We continue to hold our legal position," Dobrindt said on Monday evening in Berlin. According to Dobrindt, the three Somalis had previously attempted to enter Germany on May 2 and May 3 without applying for asylum. They only submitted an asylum application during their third attempt on May 9, he said. According to the court, the decisions are final. New migration crackdown policy Dobrindt recently reported that, in the week following the policy change, 739 people were turned away at the border - an increase of 45% from the previous week, when 511 were rejected. Among those stopped, 51 had expressed a wish to seek asylum; 32 were turned back. The remainder, including minors and pregnant women, were allowed entry on humanitarian grounds. Critics of the new policy feel vindicated by the court's decision and have accused the government of undermining EU law. Marcel Emmerich, domestic affairs spokesperson for the Green Party, said the decision exposed Dobrindt's policy as "a blatant breach of the law."
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Germany's crackdown on migration in limbo as court blocks asylum move
The German government's move to turn away asylum seekers at the country's borders is unlawful, a Berlin court ruled on Monday. The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court is a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on migration. Shortly after taking office last month, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered border checks to be stepped up and advised police to turn back irregular migrants, even if they applied for asylum. In the first case to emerge over the controversial move, the court ruled in favour of three Somalis who were turned back to Poland from the border town of Frankfurt an der Oder on May 9, judging that they should have been handled under the European Union's so-called Dublin procedure for asylum cases. Under the Dublin Regulation, police are not allowed to simply turn asylum seekers back at the border. Instead, German authorities must initiate a complicated procedure to transfer them back to the country where they first entered the EU. The court rejected the government's argument that the regulation could be suspended due to a "national emergency," suggesting there was not "sufficient evidence of a threat to public safety or order." It said the Dublin Regulation must be carried out in every case, although it also specified that the decision does not grant migrants entry permits to Germany, as carrying out the procedure should be possible at the point of crossing.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Court: German move to turn away asylum seekers at border unlawful
The German government's move to turn away asylum seekers at the country's borders is unlawful, a Berlin court ruled on Monday. The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court is a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on migration. Shortly after taking office last month, Merz's government advised police that they could turn back irregular migrants at the border, even if they applied for asylum. The court ruled in favour of three Somalis who were turned back to Poland from the border town of Frankfurt an der Oder on May 9, judging that they should have been handled under the European Union's so-called Dublin procedure for asylum cases.
