Prenzlau (dpa/bb) – Accompanied by protests by the AfD, Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced some critical questions from citizens in Prenzlau. The SPD politician defended the expansion of border controls as well as the arms deliveries to Ukraine. However, Scholz also ruled out the delivery of long-range weapons to Kiev in the future.
A week before the state election in Brandenburg, several hundred people greeted the Chancellor near St. Mary’s Church with chants of “Scholz must go.” The AfD had called for the move. In recent polls, the far-right party was just ahead of Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke’s SPD. Woidke wants to resign from his position as head of government if the AfD wins the election.
Woidke had distanced himself from any campaign support from Scholz. “Thank God we have never had to fly in borrowed celebrities in Brandenburg,” he said in July. Scholz nevertheless went on a “summer trip” through Brandenburg. At the citizens’ dialogue in the Marienkirche in Prenzlau, he answered questions for more than an hour. The mood remained calm.
“Irregular migration is not what we want”
Migration was an important topic for those asking questions. Scholz said that Germany needs skilled workers to immigrate. But: “Irregular migration is not what we want,” said the SPD politician. If, as happened last year, 300,000 people come to Germany, only some of whom are entitled to protection, “then that is not good.”
That is why we need to take a closer look at who has the right to enter the country. “Unfortunately, we cannot completely rely on all of our neighbours doing what they should.” He stressed that border controls would be carried out in accordance with European law.
No to long-range weapons for Ukraine
Many questions also revolved around the war in Ukraine. Scholz repeatedly defended German support for the country attacked by Russia. At the same time, he stressed that he had always pursued a level-headed and well-considered line when he had been pressured to supply more and more weapons.
Scholz reiterated his opposition to the delivery of the Taurus cruise missile with a range of 500 kilometers because it would entail “a great risk of escalation.” “I said no to that. And of course that also applies to other weapons, if we had delivered them, that could fire at that great distance,” said Scholz. “It will stay that way. (…) Even if other countries decide differently.”
Negotiations on Rosneft shares in PCK
Regarding the future of the Brandenburg PCK refinery, Scholz said that people could rely on the federal government not to leave Schwedt alone. He expected that sales negotiations for the German subsidiaries of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft, which own the majority of PCK, would be concluded by the end of the year.
Negotiations are ongoing, which is why the federal government has extended the trust administration once again, said Scholz. We know who is talking to Rosneft. “We hope and assume that everything will be clear by the end of the year, so that we can then use the time after that to get things wrapped up.”
The Chancellor also referred to his upcoming trip to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The issue of the Central Asian oil refinery will also be discussed there. Scholz did not provide any details.
The refinery in the Uckermark region supplies northeast Germany with gasoline, diesel, heating oil and other products. Previously, it only processed Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline. Due to the Russian attack on Ukraine, the German government decided to stop using Russian pipeline oil from the beginning of 2023. Since then, the refinery has switched to other sources of supply and also purchases some crude oil from Kazakhstan.
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