The Union has a clear demand of the traffic light coalition: unwanted migration to Germany must be limited. Without a binding declaration that this will happen, there is no point in talking any further. CDU leader Friedrich Merz also demands a commitment to rejections at the borders. He sees this as a prerequisite for further talks between the CDU and CSU with representatives of the traffic light coalition (SPD, Greens, FDP) and the states.
Now the government is mulling over the issue. Legally it is tricky, and politically no less so. What could Germany unleash in Europe? The answer depends on who you ask.
Are migrants already being turned away at the German borders?
Yes. Rejections at German land borders are possible if someone is banned from entering the country or does not apply for asylum. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, more than 30,000 people have been rejected since October. There have been controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since mid-October 2023, and at the German-Austrian border since September 2015. At certain German airports there is the so-called airport procedure. This is an accelerated asylum procedure of a maximum of 19 days, which is carried out at certain German airports in the transit area, i.e. before entry.
What else does the Union want to achieve?
The CDU/CSU is pushing for people to be turned away “who have already been accepted in another member state of the EU or the Schengen area or who can also apply for asylum in a state from which they wish to enter”. There should be controls at the German borders until there is “functioning external border protection” in Europe.
What is the legal situation?
Not clear. International law expert Daniel Thym from the University of Konstanz, like other lawyers, is of the opinion that the Dublin Regulation does not allow rejections. One reason for this is that border controls do not take place on the border line, he told the German Press Agency. “In fact, it is usually somewhere several meters behind the border.” In addition, a short procedure must be carried out, with identification procedures and questioning.
However, according to Thym, Germany can invoke an exception rule in the EU treaties and declare an emergency – which is also what the Union is counting on. “It is another matter whether the argument of emergency convinces the judges in the specific case and whether, in addition, the German behavior is classified as proportionate,” explained the international lawyer. “Nobody can give you definitive legal certainty here.” That is sometimes the case in life and in the law. Politicians must therefore decide in the knowledge that legality is not definitively established.
From the point of view of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, the country is in an exceptional situation: “The migration crisis that has been going on for two years has led to a complete overload of our reception and integration capacities,” said Union parliamentary group vice-chair Andrea Lindholz (CSU) to the dpa.
Austrian migration researcher Gerald Knaus predicts in the “Rheinische Post” that Germany will probably not take the legal risk. “The federal government cannot and will not do that, because that would lead to legal chaos in Europe,” he said. “If EU law is now undermined because of this situation, it will break the neck of the legal system in Europe, far beyond this issue.”
Do rejections actually prevent entry?
First of all, yes. However, the German border is basically open despite occasional controls in some sections. This is also important for Germany for economic reasons, as the temporarily tightened controls during the Corona crisis have shown. This also means that migrants who have been prevented from entering the country can in principle still enter the country from another point. Nobody knows how many people who are rejected do so.
But international law expert Thym expects that more rejections would also have a “deterrent effect” and prevent more migrants from travelling to Germany. In an article for “Spiegel” he writes: “The rejections signal to the world that the welcoming culture is definitely over.” He also expects a “domino effect” along the travel routes. “The border fortifications would be reinforced with personnel and rejections would also be practiced there. That would increase the signal effect even more.”
The Police Union (GdP) and the German Police Union (DPolG) also expect such a chain reaction. However, they are also calling for clarification of the legal basis and more technology and personnel.
What political consequences do rejections trigger?
There are two schools of thought on this. On the one hand, there are fears of a breakdown in European cooperation and serious distortions in relations with other EU states. If Germany does not allow significantly more people into the country and perhaps relies on a shaky legal basis, other EU members could terminate their cooperation and encourage migrants to travel on to Germany. In the end, even the compromise on European asylum reform that has been painstakingly negotiated over the years – some details of which still need to be spelled out anyway – could be called into question.
Thym, however, believes that a different outcome is possible. “In the capitals of Europe, a majority is now in favor of some drastic tightening,” he writes in “Spiegel.” Governments in neighboring countries have long complained that the German asylum system acts as a “magnet.” “The federal government would therefore not have to fear that Bulgaria and Greece would open their border fences to Turkey out of anger – with the result that even more people would enter the country.” Instead, Europe would jointly take a stronger course to limit unwanted migration.
What is the government doing in general to combat irregular migration?
Some things have already happened. A few months ago, the Bundestag passed regulations for, among other things, a longer maximum detention period for deportation. The “security package” presented last week in response to the Solingen attack provides for measures in three areas: a tougher approach to the return of rejected asylum seekers to their countries of origin, steps to combat Islamist terror more decisively and tightening of gun laws.
However, the Union criticizes that the package comes into effect too late, namely when the migrants are already in Germany. After an initial round of talks on Tuesday between the traffic light coalition, state representatives and the Union, one of the issues being examined is whether migrants who are already registered elsewhere in Europe can be turned away. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior’s current legal opinion, this is not easy: Asylum seekers must therefore be taken to an initial reception center, where it will then be examined whether another European country is responsible for them.
There is already an EU asylum reform – isn’t it working?
No. After years of dispute and wrangling, the EU states agreed on a joint asylum reform in May of this year, but it will take some time before it really takes effect. At the end of the year, the EU countries must present national plans for implementation. These must then be implemented by June 2026.
And this means fewer asylum seekers will come to Germany?
At least that is the hope of some politicians and experts. They believe that in the long term the number of migrants in German cities will decrease because people with little chance of being granted asylum are already being turned away at the EU’s external borders. In addition, stricter regulations could mean that many people do not even set out on the journey.
What else can we expect from the reform?
In principle, the asylum reform is intended to introduce a uniform procedure. It is hoped that this will lead to a better distribution of migrants between EU countries and to faster deportation. Even after the legal reform, asylum seekers must continue to submit their application in the European country in which they first arrive. This means that they cannot simply travel on to another country involved in the so-called Dublin system and apply for asylum there.
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