Latest news with #DublinRegulation
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
German police fear legal consequences over pushbacks at border
German police have said they are concerned that border officers might face legal problems after a court blocked the government's efforts to turn away asylum seekers at the country's borders. 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 Berlin Administrative Court ruled on Monday 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. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has defended the policy in light of the ruling. But the chairman of the GdP police union, Andreas Rosskopf, on Wednesday said he was worried about what consequences the court decision would have for officers who continue to turn back people at the border. "Of course, it is an individual case decision for now, but it remains to be said that these are cases that we face every day and therefore there is now a certain amount of uncertainty among colleagues," he told public broadcaster WDR. Police officers are ultimately responsible for their own actions and must answer for them, the union chief noted. Dobrindt had dismissed concerns that officers could be prosecuted for their actions as "completely absured" in earlier comments to public broadcaster ARD. But Rosskopf said he "actually had to disagree to a certain extent." While the minister was right in arguing that police officers were subject to clear instructions in the matter, Rosskopf said: "If it were clear and is clear that this instruction is ultimately unlawful, then police officers must fulfil so-called remonstration duties," meaning they would have to explicitly criticize the order in order to avoid legal responsibility. "We need a written clarification that colleagues are clearly acting on instructions in this uncertain situation and cannot be held personally liable for their actions following legal proceedings in this matter," the union boss explained.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Berlin court bars police from turning immigrants away at border
A Berlin court has barred German border police from rejecting asylum seekers arriving from neighboring EU countries without reviewing their claims. The ruling deals a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent efforts to reduce asylum-related land migration. Last month, shortly after Merz took office, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt introduced a policy under which undocumented migrants arriving at land borders were to be turned back – unless they are unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, or otherwise vulnerable individuals. The move aimed to fulfill Merz's campaign promise to curb migration amid heightened public concern following a series of high-profile crimes involving asylum seekers. On Monday, however, the Berlin Administrative Court ruled against the policy. The decision came in response to a legal challenge brought by three Somali nationals who tried to enter Germany last month but were returned to Poland without any examination of their claims. The court found Dobrindt's policy to be unlawful under the Dublin Regulation, which governs how EU member states handle asylum applications. The rules require that asylum seekers apply in the first EU country they enter. If they later apply in another member state, such as Germany, that country can seek to transfer them back to the original state. In its ruling, the Berlin court emphasized that Germany cannot reject asylum seekers at the border without first checking whether they have submitted a claim, and whether the Dublin rules apply. It noted that while Germany is not obligated to accept all asylum seekers at the border, it also cannot summarily return individuals without reviewing their applications. As noted by the New York Times, the German authorities could fulfill these requirements by holding applicants in processing centers until it can be determined which EU state is responsible for their claims. Dobrindt responded to the court's ruling by arguing that it applies only to the specific case of the three Somali migrants and does not undermine the government's broader policy. 'We stand by our legal opinion and do not consider it to have been undermined in this instance,' he told reporters on Monday night. Efforts to curb migration to Germany intensified following a series of violent crimes, including the 2024 knife attack in Solingen, where a Syrian asylum seeker fatally stabbed three people and injured eight others during a summer festival. The attacker had originally entered the EU through Bulgaria. German officials failed to deport him because they could not locate him at his assigned asylum residence.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Small boat arrivals 'drawn to UK because we can't return them after Brexit'
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said there is evidence that the lack of a migrant return deal after Brexit is 'a factor' for people making the dangerous Channel crossing Migrants are being drawn to the UK on small boats because there is no return agreement with Europe after Brexit, MPs have been told. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said there is evidence that this is "a factor" for some people making the dangerous journey to claim asylum. She told members of the Home Affairs Select Committee the Government is trying to secure a new return deal with Europe to replace the one that was lost. Ms Cooper made the remarks after being questioned by Labour MP Chris Murray about the EU's Dublin scheme. This gives member states the right to return migrants to European countries where they had previously made an asylum claim. The UK had such an arrangement with the EU until December 31, 2020. Ms Cooper said: "We want to see a replacement for the Dublin scheme to recognise the impact of that. There's evidence of people who are in the UK raising that as a factor for them." The Labour frontbencher continued: "Nobody should be making these journeys, it was completely unacceptable the number that we saw on Saturday." So far 14,812 people are known to have crossed the Channel this year. It comes after a leaked recording revealed Tory shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp complained that after Brexit the UK "can't any longer rely on sending people back to the place where they first claimed asylum". In a clip obtained by Sky News last month, Mr Philp went on: "When we did check it out… (we) found that about half the people crossing the Channel had claimed asylum previously elsewhere in Europe." On Monday Éléonore Anne-Marie Caroit, deputy of the French national assembly, said Britain appears like an "El Dorado" - the mythical city of gold in South America - for migrants. But she denied that France was failing to stop the problem, saying the two nations must stop blaming each other. Ms Caroit said the UK has suffered as a result of Brexit, with the UK no longer able to return people to the EU under the Dublin scheme. She told the BBC: "The numbers have been increasing since Brexit after the UK is no longer part of the Dublin Regulation and has a very weak asylum policy." This made it easier to return migrants with no right to be in the UK, she said. It comes after Home Office figures showed the number of days with good weather conditions for migrants to cross the Channel this year have more than doubled compared to previous years. There were 60 so-called "red" days between January 1 and April 30 this year, when factors such as wind speed, wave height and the likelihood of rain meant crossings were classed by officials as "likely" or "highly likely". Some 11,074 migrants arrived in the UK during these four months after crossing the Channel. By contrast, there were 27 red days in the same period last year, less than half the number in 2025, with 7,567 arrivals recorded - nearly a third lower than the total for this year. There were also 27 red days in the first four months of 2022, with 23 red days in 2023, with 6,691 and 5,946 arrivals in these periods, respectively. But Mr Philp responded: "Blaming the weather for the highest ever crossing numbers so far this year is the border security equivalent of a lazy student claiming 'the dog ate my homework'."
Russia Today
3 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Berlin court bars police from turning migrants away at border
A Berlin court has barred German border police from rejecting asylum seekers arriving from neighboring EU countries without reviewing their claims. The ruling deals a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent efforts to reduce asylum-related land migration. Last month, shortly after Merz took office, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt introduced a policy under which undocumented migrants arriving at land borders were to be turned back – unless they are unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, or otherwise vulnerable individuals. The move aimed to fulfill Merz's campaign promise to curb migration amid heightened public concern following a series of high-profile crimes involving asylum seekers. On Monday, however, the Berlin Administrative Court ruled against the policy. The decision came in response to a legal challenge brought by three Somali nationals who tried to enter Germany last month but were returned to Poland without any examination of their claims. The court found Dobrindt's policy to be unlawful under the Dublin Regulation, which governs how EU member states handle asylum applications. The rules require that asylum seekers apply in the first EU country they enter. If they later apply in another member state, such as Germany, that country can seek to transfer them back to the original state. In its ruling, the Berlin court emphasized that Germany cannot reject asylum seekers at the border without first checking whether they have submitted a claim, and whether the Dublin rules apply. It noted that while Germany is not obligated to accept all asylum seekers at the border, it also cannot summarily return individuals without reviewing their applications. As noted by the New York Times, the German authorities could fulfill these requirements by holding applicants in processing centers until it can be determined which EU state is responsible for their claims. Dobrindt responded to the court's ruling by arguing that it applies only to the specific case of the three Somali migrants and does not undermine the government's broader policy. 'We stand by our legal opinion and do not consider it to have been undermined in this instance,' he told reporters on Monday night. Efforts to curb migration to Germany intensified following a series of violent crimes, including the 2024 knife attack in Solingen, where a Syrian asylum seeker fatally stabbed three people and injured eight others during a summer festival. The attacker had originally entered the EU through Bulgaria. German officials failed to deport him because they could not locate him at his assigned asylum residence.
DW
3 days ago
- General
- DW
Germany updates: Merz defiant after court blow – DW – 06/03/2025
06/03/2025 June 3, 2025 Germany's Merz defends migration plans after legal setback on asylum Merz said the ruling may narrow his administration's room for maneuver, but there was still wiggle room Image: Thilo Schmuelgen/POOL/AFP via Getty Images German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has defended his government's effort to turn away asylum seekers at the country's borders, one day after a court blocked the move. The emergency decision by the Berlin Administrative Court was a blow for Merz, who has promised he will curb irregular migration. Speaking in Berlin, the chancellor said the ruling may narrow his administration's room for maneuver, but there was still scope. "We know that we can still carry out [border] rejections." Merz, who took office last month, said his government would "of course do this within the framework of existing European law." "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. Merz stressed that Germany would have to "maintain controls on the internal" until the situation at the European Union's external borders has improved significantly in his view. Shortly after taking office last month, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered police to beef up border checks and turn away irregular migrants, even if they apply for asylum. The court ruling on Monday found that three Somalis who were turned back to Poland on May 9 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. Merz's immigration policies have been repeatedly criticized as violating both German and EU law.
