Decisions before Scholz meeting
Countries are calling for shortened asylum procedures and payment cards
October 13, 2023, 7:09 p.m
According to the Prime Minister’s wishes, asylum applications from people who have little prospect of remaining in Germany should be processed within three months. There should also be a nationwide uniform payment card for asylum seekers. The state leaders also expressed clear guidelines regarding a financial injection from the federal government.
Before the top meeting with the Chancellor on migration, the federal states put pressure on better control of immigration. Asylum procedures for nationals of states whose recognition rate in Germany is less than five percent should be legally completed within three months and the conditions for the introduction of a nationwide uniform payment card for asylum seekers should be created, it was said at the conclusion of the Prime Minister’s Conference (MPK) in Frankfurt am Main . The Prime Ministers, who met under the chairmanship of Hesse, also discussed other topics, such as the further financing of the Germany Ticket.
In the evening, the Hessian head of government and current MPK chairman Boris Rhein from the CDU and his Lower Saxony SPD counterpart Stephan Weil will meet in Berlin with Scholz and Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz to talk about migration policy. Scholz had invited people to the Chancellery. However, decisions are not expected until the next MPK on November 6th, in which Scholz will also take part. The background is the significantly increased number of refugees in Germany.
According to the wishes of the federal states, asylum procedures for people with little prospect of staying should be processed more quickly in the future. “The federal and state governments have the common goal of legally completing asylum procedures for nationals of states for which the recognition rate is less than five percent more quickly than before,” says a resolution from the Prime Minister. The stated goal is to complete the asylum procedure and the legal proceedings that often follow in three months. If necessary, the personnel and organizational requirements would be created. The federal government is responsible for asylum procedures, more precisely the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The administrative court proceedings concern the judicial authorities of the federal states.
More consistent repatriation when violent crimes are committed
The aim should be to speed up the asylum process with priority processing of applications from people from countries with a low recognition rate, explained Weil. This is a practical step that has more effect than the debate that has been going on for years about which other countries should be classified as so-called safe countries of origin. Rhein said they wanted to “come to a harmonization of social benefit standards” for asylum seekers and refugees within the European Union. However, with reference to the Federal Constitutional Court’s requirements for the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, he warned against excessive expectations.
The federal states are also pushing for faster and more consistent returns of rejected asylum seekers, especially those who have committed serious crimes or violent crimes. It’s about “controlling” migration and repatriating illegal refugees, said Rhein. The disincentives for staying longer would have to be reduced and social benefit standards within the EU would have to be harmonized – but always on the basis of the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court. Weil spoke of a “migration policy that brings humanity and order together.”
States want 10,500 euros per migrant from the federal government
The prime ministers reiterated their demand for significantly more money for the care and accommodation of refugees. “The federal government has to make significant moves here, that’s clear,” said Rhein, who just won a state election in Hesse. In their decision, the states demanded an annual flat rate of 1.25 billion euros from the federal government and at least 10,500 euros per migrant. He should also fully cover the accommodation costs. Weil said many municipalities are financially overburdened. “If it’s difficult for the mayors, then they must at least have the impression that they are being supported as best as possible by their state.” The countries do this. “Our expectation is that the federal government will follow suit at this point.”
The Prime Ministers also called on the federal government, in close coordination with the states, to “promptly create the conditions for the introduction of a nationwide uniform payment card and thereby ensure its feasibility in the municipalities”. The option of refugees receiving a “clearly limited portion” of the benefit rate in cash as pocket money should be examined. “That only makes sense if it is nationwide,” emphasized Rhein. Furthermore, refugees should be able to take up work or do charitable work more quickly than before. The federal government should also examine whether deportations could take place directly from federal facilities, such as larger airports.
Bavaria continues to demand “integration limit”
Bremen stated in a statement that it was against “discriminatory measures such as further work obligations that go beyond the current legal situation or payment cards that do not allow cash withdrawals.” Thuringia also did not agree with individual points. Bavaria repeated CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder’s call for an “integration limit” for asylum immigration and emphasized that “legal changes, including constitutional ones”, should be examined and discussed.
Weil was nevertheless relieved about the general agreement. The prime ministers are very aware of the mood among the population. “We are determined to all work together to regain the trust of the population,” emphasized Weil. Rhein expressly thanked Scholz for the conversation about migration issues planned in the Chancellery this Friday evening: “I believe that you can really run a country in such a way that the citizens have the feeling that they care, that they have it under control and that take big steps.”