Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser calls for stricter immigration rules, as refugee charity Pro Asyl urges the German government to uphold human rights and the need for protection.
Germany's Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser continues to press for a reform of the EU asylum system in order to limit immigration to Germany and other EU states.
For her, the main issue is to "get appropriate external border protection in place," Faeser stated on Thursday at a joint press conference in Berlin with her Austrian colleague Gerhard Karner.
"Both states are under considerable pressure," she said, underlining the importance of joint EU decisions at the upcoming June 8 meeting of interior ministers.
The social democratic party (SPD) politician professed her support for the "humanitarian reception of refugees from around the world," but noted that "there must also be a fair distribution in Europe".
Stricter asylum policies and border controls
Karner made it clear at the conference that people who are not entitled to asylum must also be deported to their home countries. This, he said, is important "so that we can help those who need our help." Other topics discussed between Faeser and Karner included cooperation in the fight against organized crime and how to deal with the far-right "Reichsbürger" scene, which is active in both countries.
Alexander Throm of the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU), criticized Faeser's rejection of stationary controls at the EU's internal borders between Germany and the Czech Republic and Poland.
Throm said he welcomed the extension of controls at the German-Austrian border and accused the interior minister of "not living up to her responsibility", claiming that the burden of the incoming migrants is borne largely by the municipalities. He pointed out that controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic have also been demanded by the East German states of Brandenburg and Saxony.
Pro Asyl calls for defense of right to asylum
In a letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other members of the German government published Tuesday, human rights organization Pro Asyl warned against plans in the EU for greater restrictions to those seeking protection. "These plans are an attack on the Geneva Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights," the text says.
"Asylum applications are to be rejected as inadmissible if those seeking protection enter via an allegedly safe third country," Pro Asyl stated in the letter, which is also addressed to Faeser, foreign minister Annalena Baerbock (Green Party) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP).
The organization called on the German government to "live up to its human rights responsibility" and reject such plans at the meeting of EU interior ministers June 8. "There must be no compromises at the expense of refugee protection," Pro Asyl demanded.
With AFP