‘Germany Must Remain Germany’: Bavarian Leader Drafts Tough Migrant Policy Proposals

Seehofer to the rescue

‘Germany must remain Germany’: Bavarian leader drafts tough migrant policy proposals – report

© Leonhard Foeger / Reuters

A charter reiterating strict German migration limits and calling for new Turkey-like refugee agreements with third countries is reportedly being drafted by the leader of Germany’s Christian Social Union (CSU).

A program dubbed ‘Germany must remain Germany’ has been reportedly prepared by the Bavarian Prime Minister and the leader of CSU Horst Seehofer. The document is expected to be published on Tuesday, according to a report of Munich's local newspaper the Münchner Merkur.

The charter outlines the CSU’s position on Germany’s and the EU’s migration challenges. The document has been authored mainly by Seehofer, but also contains a number of proposals from Bavarian ministers, as well as input from other federal and state government officials, according to the Münchner Merkur.

There is however reference to the CSU’s commitment for further admission of “those in need of protection” into the country, despite the calls for migration limits and more stringent controls at the EU’s external borders.

“The inclusion of those in need of protection is a requirement of Christian and humanitarian responsibility,” states the charter according to the publication.

Germany should conduct its migration policy with “zero tolerance against xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.” Seehofer is also advocating for an “African act” within the European Union - designed to help troubled states outside the EU, and establishing refugee centers in third countries.

“It was only the EU-Turkey agreement that led to the relief of the EU’s external borders in Greece,” the charter states. “However, such third-country agreements cannot be linked to inappropriate topics, such as EU accession, and visa-free agreements.”

The charter also calls for revision of family reunification policies, as the right to live in the EU must become strictly “self-earned.” In addition, elder migrants must be subjected to limited social support payments as they had spent the most their working lives outside the EU, the documents says.

The migrant influx must be regulated by an “orderly procedure” and according to quotas which ensure a “fair and sound burden distribution to the EU must not exceed the limits of the absorption capacity of a country,” the charter states.

The document reiterates the controversial idea of capping refugee numbers at 200,000 a year, and Seehofer also wants other EU member states to impose upper migration limits.

Migration policy has been the main source of tension between Seehofer and his ally Chancellor Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Seehofer and Merkel are expected to hold a joint “reconciliation summit” in February before jointly campaigning for September’s elections.

Angela Merkel has come to realize how idiotic, irresponsible and destructive her 2015 Open Doors policy was. Turkey came to her rescue in 2016 in dramatically reducing the migrant flow, now Seehofer is apparently 'forcing' her to capitulate on the culturally suicidal policy, just in time for an election. Seehofer is a veritable knight in shining armor.

While Seehofer has threatened to quit the alliance after the election if Germany’s migrant policy is not radically overhauled, some members of his party are calling for a united front in the run up to the elections.

“I believe it is in the interests of both the CDU and CSU sister parties that we enter the federal election campaign united,” CSU MP Stephan Mayer told party’s fellow members at an annual retreat, according to Deutsche Welle.

Mayer and Armin Schuster of the CDU wrote a letter to the Chancellor and Seehofer, proposing a flexible migration limit, which can be amended each year, DW reported. The idea seems to be compromise between Seehofer’s hardline approach and Merkel’s so called “open door” migration policy.

“The proposal envisages a concept for the establishment of a 'breathing' benchmark for the possible admission of people in need of protection in Germany,” DW quoted the letter as saying.

Denmark Approves Confiscation of Refugees’ Valuables, Delay of Family Reunifications

Migrants, mainly from Syria, prepare to board a train headed for Sweden, at Padborg station in southern Denmark
© Claus Fisker / Reuters

The Danish parliament has passed measures aimed at deterring refugees from seeking asylum, including the confiscation of their valuables and a delay in family reunifications. The move has received widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.

Asylum seekers arriving in Denmark will now have to hand over cash exceeding 10,000 kroner (US$1,450) and any personal items valued at more than that amount. This is more than three times the 3,000 kroner ($435) that was originally proposed.

However, wedding rings and other sentimental items will be exempt from confiscation.

Integration Minister Inger Stojberg said the goal of the new legislation is for Denmark to become “significantly less attractive for asylum-seekers,” AFP reported.

The center-right Danish government says the measures are aimed at covering the cost of each asylum seeker’s support from the state, and is similar to requirements for Danish citizens receiving welfare benefits. However, Danes are not subject to the kinds of searches proposed in the new refugee law.

Some have compared the new measures to the confiscation of gold and other valuables from Jews by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

But Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen of the right-wing Venstre party has shrugged off the criticism, calling it the “most misunderstood bill in Denmark’s history.”

The new legislation will also prevent refugees from applying to be reunited with their family for three years, and will only give Syrian war refugees one year’s protection.

“I’m afraid that it will lead to an incentive structure where refugees bring their children with them,” parliament member Mette Gjerskov told Berlingske newspaper. Berlingske said ahead of the vote that she was one of three Social Democrats planning to vote against their own party.

I doubt it! It will more than likely cause migrants to head to another country, which is the whole idea.

“We have seen plenty of children in rubber boats on the Mediterranean,” the lawmaker added.

International human rights organizations have also condemned the three-year delay for reunification applications.

Amnesty International called the move “cruel,” stating that it could have a “devastating impact on families.” Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said the law violates several conventions on rights and refugees.

That sentiment echoed a January 15 letter to Stojberg from the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Nils Muiznieks, who said the reunification waiting period raises “issues of compatibility” with the European Convention on Human Rights.

However, Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen defended the law to the UN Human Rights Council last week, saying “the Danish welfare state is based upon the very simple principle that the state will provide and pay for those unable to take care of themselves, not for those who are able.”

Jensen and Stojberg responded with similar answers when questioned by European MPs during a meeting of the civil liberties committee on Monday.

The bill will be signed into law by Denmark’s Queen Margrethe within a few days.

Passage of the new legislation comes less than one week after Danish lawmakers passed a resolution urging the government to look into the consequences of building temporary housing complexes for refugees outside of Danish cities. The move is backed by the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, which wants to prevent refugees from integrating into Danish society.

Yikes! While this looks good at first glance in terms of safety for Danish girls, I can see some pretty awful possibilities as a consequence of such a move. Such camps would quickly become breeding grounds for discontent and recruiting grounds for ISIS. 

But the first question to be answered is whether or not real integration of such large numbers is even possible.

The influx of asylum seekers has led to tension with locals in some areas, with Danish women reporting sexual harassment at the hands of refugees in at least three towns. Several nightclubs have imposed strict admission rules, requiring patrons to prove their ability to speak Danish, German, or English. 

Denmark registered 21,000 asylum applications in 2015, making it one of the top EU destinations for refugees per capita, after Finland, Austria, Germany, and Sweden.

Europe continues to face its biggest migrant crisis since 1945, with the number of asylum seekers expected to increase this year. More than one million refugees entered Europe in 2015, most of them from Syria, where a civil war has taken the lives of 250,000 people and displaced 12 million since 2011, according to UN figures.

Sweden to Refugees: Find a Bed or Go Back to Germany… But Don’t Look for Them at IKEA

As Germany ‘downgrades’ Syrian refugee status

© Robert Nyholm / Reuters

Sweden’s migration minister warned refugees that if they don’t find their own accommodation, they will be deported back to Germany or Denmark. The news comes as Europe’s refugee influx had depleted IKEA’s stockpiles of beds.

The Swedish government told media on Friday that it will no longer be able to provide housing for refugees and migrants arriving in the country, despite Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson’s claims that the migration crisis is not putting “acute” pressure on public finances.

“Those who come here may be met by the message that we can’t arrange housing for them,” Migration Minister Morgan Johansson told reporters. “Either you’ll have to arrange it yourself, or you have to go back to Germany or Denmark again.”

Europe’s refugee crisis has been dubbed the worst since WWII, with tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa in hopes of starting a new life in Europe.

Amid the climbing number of refugees coming to Sweden, IKEA has announced that it is running extremely low on beds and mattresses in both Sweden and Germany.

“There are some shortages of bunk beds, mattresses and duvets” in several German and Swedish stores, an IKEA spokeswoman, Josefin Thorell, told Bloomberg. “If the situation persists we expect that it will be difficult to keep up and maintain sufficient supply.”

IKEA has been helping out local authorities with accommodation for refugees.

Sweden, a country of 10 million, has received 120,000 refugees and migrants so far in 2015, with another 190,000 still expected to arrive.

The Swedish Migration Agency has become so desperate that it allowed around 50 refugees to sleep on the floor in its head office on Thursday night, as it had failed to find any other accommodation for them.

Germany ‘downgrades’ Syrian refugee status

Meanwhile, Germany is also taking a step back from its welcoming policy towards refugees from Syria by striking out a law allowing the families of migrants to join them in Germany, the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported.

The paper also revealed that the German government is scaling back on the legal protections available for newly arrived Syrians.

As a result of the policy change, each Syrian refugee can only qualify for one residence permit for up to one year, and will not have the ability to invite the rest of their immediate family to join them in Germany.

“The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has been ordered to only grant secondary protection for refugees from Syria’s civil war,” the FAZ cited an interior ministry document as saying.

Previously, Germany had given “primary protection” to refugees, including three-year residence permits and the right of family reunification.

The German and Swedish governments have been accepting towards the refugees coming to their countries so far, but their resources are running thin.

Germany, with a population of 80 million people, may receive 1.5 million asylum seekers in this year alone. It has already accepted more asylum applications than any other European nation, with a number of critics pointing to the high number of uneducated and illiterate refugees arriving in the country.

According to the latest data cited by FAZ, in August Germany received 55,600 refugee applications from Syrians, of which 38,600 were granted residency.

Germany’s population remains divided on the government’s response to help refugees, however. The right-wing PEGIDA movement (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident) has been growing in popularity, with activists taking to the streets of Dresden for anti-refugee demonstrations that are often met with counter-protesters, which often leads to clashes.

Serious consequences
While undoubtedly necessary, ending the right to family reunification may have some serious consequences. For one, it will greatly temper migrant's joy at arriving in Germany expediting the day when they become disenchanted and eventually angry. The other serious effect could be that family left behind in Syria may decide that they too have to make the perilous trip to freedom if they ever want to rejoin their husbands, sons, or fathers.