Wednesday 20th October 2021
Refugees come from southern Europe
Seehofer is thinking about entry controls
Asylum seekers in the EU must apply in the country where they were first registered by the authorities. This procedure is sometimes disregarded by states – Interior Minister Seehofer wants to take action against it. However, he sees no need for action on the border with Poland.
Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer sees an urgent need for action in refugee policy shortly before the end of his term of office. After a meeting of the Federal Cabinet, he said that because of the high number of refugees recognized in Greece who applied for protection again in Germany, his house was now examining the possibility of introducing border controls for flights from Greece. He said: “That would be a very effective measure, which I will also take if we do not come to a joint action with Greece.” According to a report by his ministry, which is available to the German Press Agency, the number of people who are hidden in trucks in the European Union has recently risen sharply.
The so-called Dublin procedure, according to which a person seeking protection must submit an application in the EU country where he was first registered by the authorities, does not work, according to the report, the content of which Seehofer reported in the cabinet. According to this, only one asylum seeker was transferred from Germany to the responsible EU member state Greece in the first nine months of this year – with over 7,100 requests for takeover. According to the Dublin rules, only 158 people were brought to Italy with over 4,000 inquiries from the German side.
In the case of Greece, living conditions usually prevent asylum seekers from being returned. Because German courts have found that those seeking protection are threatened with homelessness and hardship. The Federal Ministry of the Interior is therefore urging the Greek government to accept German support for the accommodation and care of refugees in Greece and to implement a corresponding declaration of intent.
“It’s a form of hybrid threat”
Regarding the increased number of unauthorized entries into Germany via Belarus and Poland, the report states that these people were “often lured to Belarus under false promises and, according to reliable information, are often prevented by Belarusian officials from escaping the border area to safety to return to their homeland “.
Despite the increase in the number of refugees entering via Belarus, the Federal Cabinet does not want any border controls with its EU neighbor Poland, according to Seehofer. This is not intended by anyone in the federal government, said the CSU politician. Such a step would also be “legally questionable”. Seehofer emphasized that Poland had already taken “very strong initiatives” to prevent the entry of refugees from Belarus.
The German government and the EU are accusing Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately smuggling refugees from the Middle East and Africa into the EU. The motive is therefore retaliation for European sanctions directed against human rights violations in Belarus. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, 5,700 refugees who came via Belarus were registered at the German-Polish border this year. Seehofer announced further efforts to work with the EU to prevent airline flights with refugees to Belarus.
In the case of Iraq, there is already a corresponding commitment by the end of the year, he said. However, the government in Belarus recently allowed visa-free entries from other countries such as Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt and Jordan. Seehofer emphasized that the German government is of the opinion that ultimately “the key to solving the problem lies in Moscow”. Russia is a close ally of Belarus, which is economically heavily dependent on Moscow.