Latest news with #JoachimHerrmann
Daily Mail
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Germany unveils plans for two-storey 'deportation terminal' to return 100 migrants a day at Munich airport
One of Germany 's biggest airports is planning on building a 'deportation terminal' that will be used to send up to 100 migrants back to their home countries per day. Munich International Airport is set to build a two-storey terminal on a five-acre parcel of land by the end of 2027 that will be used to clear a backlog of 24,000 people who have been ordered to leave the Bavaria region. The new facility, according to the Times, will be overseen by Germany's federal police. It will be staffed by up to 300 officers from Bavaria's state police, 145 security guards and 90 officials from other public bodies. On top of being a deportation centre, the new facility will also act as a place for asylum applications to be processed for those who arrive in Germany by plane. Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria's interior minister, told German newspaper Bild: '[The proposed facility] is organisationally necessary so that we can make deportations quicker and more efficient.' But there are several factors expected to hinder its development. The terminal has politically split the local authorities, which include both Munich city council and the council of nearby town Freising, understood to be hesitant over any expansion of the airport. While Munich's Social Democratic Party Dieter Reiter supports the project, the city's Green party and two smaller left-leaning parties have voiced their opposition. On top of this, the airport is looking to build the new deportation terminal on a parcel of land that is protected under local conservation laws. Since 2022, Munich airport has had a 'combined transit and deportation facility' that is surrounded by barbed wire and has recreation and exercise rooms. It has enough cells to hold up to 22 deportees, and can hold up to 29 'transit' migrants who claim asylum after landing at the airport. In May, Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz issued orders to turn undocumented migrants away from the nation. The new rules would now see everyone without proper documentation, apart from children and pregnant women, turned away if they try to get into Germany from a neighbouring country. Merz, who made the order on his first day in office, pledged during the election to crack down on migration. This pledge came following a spate of knife and car attacks carried out by non-Germans that galvanised support for the hard-right AfD party.
Local Germany
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Firework bans and deportations: The new laws German ministers could put forward
The spring conference of Germany's interior ministers - of both federal and state governments - is set to open on Wednesday evening in Bremerhaven. According to reporting by the German Press Agency (DPA), discussions on electronic ankle bracelets for violent offenders, the fight against sexual violence against children and how to deal with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are on the agenda. Other topics include strengthening civil protection and civil defence, betting in amateur sports and dealing with New Year's Eve fireworks. The conference, which was founded in 1954 and usually happens twice a year, is intended to promote political cooperation between Germany's state and federal governments. The conference can pass resolutions that inform initiatives to be carried out in the coming months. Recently appointed Federal Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), is expected to announce when the next deportation flight to Afghanistan is scheduled following the conference. Free rides for police officers According to DPA, there is broad agreement on nationwide measures to improve safety on trains. Among them is a recommendation to allow federal police officers to use trains free of charge even when not in uniform. How the officers should identify themselves during ticket inspection was a recent the subject of discussions. Continued border checks and deportations Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Augsburger Allgemeine that they would also "talk intensively about the current refugee situation..." "We must continue the migration turnaround," he added. This includes the implementation of further border controls, which has recently become a point of contention between judicial and executive authorities. READ ALSO: How long can Germany keep its tighter border controls in place? Advertisement Saxony-Anhalt's interior minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) praises the tightened border controls, but adds that, "It is clear that further measures must follow." Namely she wants to see more deportations of "dangerous persons" and criminals, including to Afghanistan and Syria. Since the Islamist Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, Germany had ceased deportations to Afghanistan - with one exception in August last year when 28 offenders were flown to Kabul. Stricter limits for fireworks The states would like to see more options for firework prohibition zones. This year's chairman of the conference, Bremen's interior minister, Ulrich Mäurer (SPD), told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland : "I would prefer to ban private New Year's Eve fireworks." Together with Berlin Mäurer has proposed that cities should have the power to ban fireworks where they cause problems. How to deal with the AfD Notably, a discussion of an AfD party ban is not on the agenda. Advertisement On Tuesday, ahead of the conference, federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he opposes a ban on the far-right party despite the BfV domestic intelligence service labelling it an "extremist" group. Such a ban could be applied for by the federal government, the Bundestag or the Bundesrat. In the end, the Federal Constitutional Court would have to decide. However, Dobrindt and several CDU interior ministers want to end the ban debate, suggesting that a ban could fuel support for the party and that it must instead be defeated politically. With reporting by DPA.
Daily Mirror
07-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Woman, 30, shot dead by police after ‘attacking two people with knife' in Munich
Munich police riot squad and the Criminal Investigation Department rushed to the scene after the woman attacked two people with a knife near the Oktoberfest grounds A woman has been shot dead by police after attacking two people with a knife in Munich. The 30-year-old injured several passers-by with a knife on Saturday evening around 7:45pm near the Oktoberfest grounds, reported Bild newspaper. She attacked a 56-year-old man on Munich's Westendstraße. The perpetrator then attacked a young 25-year-old woman, also injuring her, the report said. Shortly afterwards, the police shot the attacker with a service weapon at the corner of St. Pauls Square and Bavariaring. The woman, a Bulgarian who lived nearby, underwent emergency surgery at a hospital shortly after the shooting at Theresienwiese, where the Oktoberfest takes place every autumn. She died of her injuries shortly thereafter. Munich police riot squad and the Criminal Investigation Department attended the scene. Officers have cordoned off the area. Bandages were still lying on the ground with police sniffer dogs are searching for clues at the Theresienwiese - the site of the Oktoberfest. According to BILD, the woman was reportedly mentally unwell. There are no official details yet regarding the condition of her victims. Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (68, CSU) told BILD: 'I am very grateful to the Munich police for their swift intervention and stopping the knife attacker. Her death is regrettable, but unfortunately, it was probably unavoidable.' Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story HERE. Get email updates on the day's biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Germany wants to allow Syrian refugees to visit home
The German government wants to allow Syrian refugees to travel back to their home country for a limited time without losing their protection status in Germany , a spokeswoman of the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. Legally, refugees can lose their asylum protection status if they visit their home country which they left in fear of persecution. Since the fall of Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad last December, Berlin has restarted diplomatic relations with Syriaand reopened its embassy in Damascus. Why is Germany making this proposal? Under the proposal, Syrians with refugee status in Germany would be allowed to go back to their home country for a period of four weeks, or two separate two-week periods. The aim of the proposal is to enable Syrians to make the decision to return voluntarily, a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said. "To do this, people from Syria must be able to see for themselves - for example, whether [their] houses are still standing, whether their relatives are still alive and so on." Such visits are the prerequisite for enabling large numbers of refugees to return to their country, if the situation in Syria further stabilizes, the spokeswoman added. The visits should be only permitted "under certain strict conditions" and if they serve to "prepare for a permanent return" to Syria. Those who wish to use this exception would have to register their visits with the relevant immigration authorities , the spokeswoman said. CSU rejects proposal Germany's Christian Socialist Union (CSU) and its Bavarian State interior minister however reject the proposal. Bavarian State's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann described the proposed visits as "vacation trips under the guise of fact-finding trips." Herrmann argued against "uncontrolled travel" between Germany and Syria. Instead, he favored a coordinated solution within Europe rather than "national solo efforts." The CSU, which won the majority of votes in Germany's February federal election along with its partner the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is set to take over the Federal Ministry of the Interior in the upcoming government. The union plans to significantly tighten migration policies . The next day after Assad's December ouster, German authorities froze asylum proceedings from Syrian citizens, alongside several other European countries. More than 1 million Syrians, many of whom fled their homeland during the bloody civil war, live in Germany.
Bloomberg
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Merz Allies Urge End to German Cannabis Legalization: Augsburger
Two senior members of the German conservative CDU/CSU bloc led by Friedrich Merz are demanding a reversal of the legalization of cannabis last year by the outgoing Socialist SPD-led 'traffic light' coalition, the Augsburger Allgemeine reported, a reminder of a divisive issue that could sour talks about a new coalition government. 'We want to reverse the mistake of the 'traffic light' and ban cannabis again,' Bavarian Health Minister Joachim Herrmann told the newspaper. The southern region's Health Minister Judith Gerlach also criticized the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, saying the measure should be 'withdrawn quickly and completely,' the paper reported.
