The country’s leaders agree: to limit migration, they want to speed up asylum procedures – and issue payment cards. However, no decisions are expected for the top meeting with Chancellor Scholz in the evening.
In accordance with the wishes of the federal states, asylum procedures for people with little prospect of staying should be processed more quickly in the future. “The federal and state governments have the common goal of completing asylum procedures for nationals of states whose recognition rate is less than five percent more quickly than before,” says a resolution agreed by the prime ministers in Frankfurt am Main.
The stated aim is to complete the asylum procedure and the judicial process that often follows within three months. The premiers called on the federal government to conclude new migration agreements or readmission agreements with relevant states and staff the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) to do so. Federal states are also pushing for faster and more consistent returns of rejected asylum seekers, especially those who have committed serious crimes or violent crimes.
Accelerated processing should be possible through priority processing of applications from people from countries with a low recognition rate, explained Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD). This is a practical step that has more effect than the debate that has been going on for years about which other countries should be classified as safe countries of origin.
Prime ministers demand more money
The Prime Ministers also reiterated their call for significantly more money for the care and accommodation of refugees. “The federal government has to take significant measures here, that is clear,” said the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference, Hessian Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU), after the state leaders’ meeting.
In their decision, the states demanded a fixed annual fee of 1.25 billion euros from the federal government and at least 10,500 euros per migrant. It must also fully cover accommodation costs.
Rhein’s deputy, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Weil, said that many municipalities were financially overburdened. “If it’s difficult for mayors, then they should at least have the impression that they are being supported in the best possible way by their state.” Countries do this. “Our expectation is that the federal government will follow suit at this time.”
Demand for payment card
The federal states also want a uniform nationwide payment card for refugees. The prime minister appealed to the federal government to create the conditions for this “in a timely manner” and “guarantee that it can be implemented in the municipalities”.
The federal government should also examine whether deportations could occur directly from federal facilities, such as larger airports. Weil emphasized that there was great unity in the group.
However, Bremen said in a statement that it opposes “discriminatory measures, such as new employment obligations that go beyond the current legal situation or payment cards that do not allow cash withdrawals.” Thuringia also did not agree on individual points.
Bavaria repeated Prime Minister Markus Söder’s (CSU) call for an “integration threshold” for asylum immigration and emphasized that “legal changes, including constitutional ones”, must be examined and discussed.
Because relieved with the agreement
From the perspective of Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Weil, the states have taken an important step towards an agreement on controversial migration issues. “It cannot be taken for granted that we can say at the end of this conference: we have reached agreement on a substantial document on migration issues,” said the SPD politician after the Prime Minister’s Conference.
The heads of government of the federal states are very attentive to the population’s climate. “We are determined to all work together to regain the public’s trust,” Weil said. The Prime Minister’s Conference proved that despite political differences, with good will, we can unite on this issue.
No decisions are expected at key meetings
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) will meet with the main representatives of the federal states in the evening to discuss the course of migration policy.
The federal government does not expect any decision, because Chancellor Scholz initially sees the first high-level meeting with the states and opposition leader Merz as a “discussion of information” and “exchange of views”. This is how government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit described the expectations a few hours before the start of the dinner at the Chancellery: “It is actually a concrete exchange, an understanding, how you see the situation, how we see the situation, what should be done?” Scholz invited people to the meeting after the state elections in Hesse and Bavaria.
Habeck defends package of measures
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser presented an initial package of measures on Wednesday. The SPD politician’s bill provides for measures for faster deportations of criminals and refugees without the right to stay. At the same time, the traffic light coalition parties also agreed to allow asylum seekers to start work more quickly.
The plans presented are not without controversy. The Union sees the possibility of starting work faster as an additional incentive to come to Germany. Habeck defended the plans. It’s about “removing pressure from the situation”, said the Green politician in the morning magazine ARD. The regulation will only apply retroactively to those who came to Germany before December last year, he said. Faster integration into the job market is beneficial for everyone involved. “People should make their own money,” he said.