After the attack in Solingen, which left three people dead, the debate about Germany’s course in migration policy has flared up again. Within a few days, the traffic light coalition agreed on an asylum and security package. However, the CDU/CSU do not believe the measures are sufficient. The most recent migration summit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) ended without any results, and CDU leader Friedrich Merz continues to insist on rejections at the German border.
On this point, FDP parliamentary manager Stephan Thomae is now proposing to test the EU legal framework. “We are prepared to try everything that is legally possible and can lead to maximum success,” Thomae told the newspapers of the Bavarian Media Group. The question is what consequences such rejections would have, he stressed, and suggested testing this “on a trial basis at a section of the border.”
We must have the courage to set a political goal and see whether it can be reconciled with European law.
Stephen ThomasFDP parliamentary manager
“So far, there is no supreme court ruling on this. We need to clarify: What do the courts, and ultimately perhaps the ECJ, say about such cases? We must have the courage to set a political goal and see whether it can be reconciled with European law.”
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CDU leader Friedrich Merz proposed a rejection for a test period of three months on Thursday – the Greens and parts of the SPD in the coalition rejected the proposal. The FDP sided with the Union and called for a return to the negotiating table after the migration talks collapsed earlier this week. Merz signaled his willingness to continue talks, but is sticking to his demand.
“The challenges are so great that they require a joint effort by all four parties of the democratic centre – the coalition parties together with the Union,” Thomae told the newspapers.
Joint talks between the Union and the government on migration policy failed this week. Merz had called for comprehensive rejections of refugees at the border – including asylum seekers. The government, however, has legal concerns on this point and referred to the case law of the European Court of Justice.
Last weekend, the former President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Hans-Jürgen Papier, commented on this issue. “I consider rejections under Section 18 of the Asylum Act not only possible, but even necessary,” Papier told “Bild”.
According to Paragraph 18, people “entering from safe third countries are to be refused entry.” Germany is “without exception surrounded by safe third countries.” According to Papier, who presided over Germany’s highest court from 2002 to 2010, there are no European legal regulations that take precedence over German law, such as Paragraph 18 of the Asylum Act.
According to a recent survey, a majority of Germans are calling for stricter measures at the German borders, regardless of European legal requirements. 71 percent of those surveyed were in favor of direct rejections at the border.
These already exist, for example, for foreigners who require a visa and do not apply for asylum when crossing the border, as well as for people with an entry ban.