Refugee situation in municipalities
Merz accuses Scholz of “negligent” indifference
03/30/2023 02:47 am
Cities in Germany currently seem overwhelmed by the number of refugees. The FDP and CDU are therefore calling for the federal government to act more consistently, especially with regard to asylum policy. Opposition leader Merz accused the Chancellor of inaction.
Shortly before the so-called municipal summit of the Union faction on the refugee crisis, faction leader Friedrich Merz accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of inaction on the subject. “We as the opposition are doing what Chancellor Olaf Scholz should actually do: seek dialogue with the municipalities, districts and cities. The municipalities are begging the Chancellor to finally act,” Merz told the “Bild” newspaper. This “indifference” is “negligent”.
Scholz’ behavior shakes the confidence of the European partners in Germany. “Europe finally needs a common approach to asylum policy.” This Thursday, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group will be discussing problems with the accommodation of migrants across all parties with mayors and district administrators.
According to information from the Union faction, almost 400 local politicians have confirmed their attendance. The municipalities are demanding a long-term strategy for taking in refugees from the federal and state governments. According to Merz, 244,000 asylum applications were made in Germany last year. In the current year there are already 30,000 immigrants to Germany every month, mostly refugees and asylum seekers. Only a small part of this comes from the Ukraine, the larger part from the Near and Middle East.
FDP calls for more consistent repatriation of those who are obliged to leave the country
According to a media report, the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag is also urging the government to reduce the sharp increase in immigration of asylum seekers with a position paper. The high number of refugees and the tense situation with accommodation in the municipalities threaten to reduce the overall social acceptance of immigration, it says. The paper by deputy faction leader Konstantin Kuhle and parliamentary director Stephan Thomae is available to the Bayern media group.
Among other things, they demand that “exit custody be extended to 28 days” – so far a judge can order this for 10 days, for example if a foreigner probably wants to thwart his deportation. The FDP also insists on the rapid implementation of a point from the coalition agreement: namely to clarify whether asylum applications in third countries could be examined. Furthermore, the coalition faction calls for more powers for the federal police in the repatriation of those who are obliged to leave the country, which they take up in their area of responsibility. Thomae told the media group’s newspapers that “repatriations must be made faster and more effective”.