Criticisms of Sebastian Kurz – “Do not steal from responsibility”

PPoliticians from various parties have strongly criticized the EU Commission’s plans to reform the European asylum system. Green parliamentary group leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt spoke to WELT about a missed opportunity “to pave the way to a meaningful and humane solution.” “The EU Commission’s proposals for the new migration pact do not show solidarity with the refugees or with the affected EU border states. Rather than finally abolishing the long-failed Dublin Regulation, it is simply given a new label, “said Göring-Eckardt.

The Commission’s plans presented shortly before provide for asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders, faster deportations and the appointment of a “return coordinator”. If the number of refugees is high, all Member States should also be obliged to “show solidarity” with the countries of arrival. To do this, they can host refugees or provide assistance with deportations. Countries like Hungary and Poland should only be obliged to accept migrants in absolutely exceptional cases.

Göring-Eckardt complained that first-time countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, and Malta would largely have to go it alone even with the new plans. “This will not change the chaotic and unworthy conditions of the camps at the external borders of the EU. There is no clear commitment that the EU protects and respects the human rights and human dignity of those seeking protection. “

Rush procedures at the border are problematic under the rule of law, they would not avoid overcrowded and inhumane camps like Moria, but would make them standard. “That cannot be a solution.” International law requires careful examination of applications for protection. “This obligation cannot simply be sacrificed for deterrence purposes,” Göring-Eckardt said.

“After initial registration, refugees must be redistributed quickly and reliably across Europe in order to carry out their asylum procedures in member states,” he said. “The German federal government must live up to its responsibility as the Presidency of the EU Council and now continue to work to ensure that everyone is involved in the implementation of a solidarity-based European asylum policy, whether by accepting refugees or providing support. financial. Also, there must be more controlled routes for immigration. “

“The right to protection is eliminated at the external border”

Left-wing President Katja Kipping also harshly criticized the plans of the EU Commission. “Ursula von der Leyen’s plan is not a solution, but a human rights bankruptcy,” Kipping told WELT. “The right to protection is eliminated at the European external border.”

Indeed, Ursula von der Leyen should have been expected to “defend the European Convention on Human Rights as guardian of the EU treaties.” But the opposite happens. The new proposal is based on deportations, encampments and “the systematic suspension of basic rights. To this day, there are still no more admission quotas, ”said the left-wing politician.

“Particularly regrettable” is what Kipping called the regulation, according to which countries do not have to accept people if they take over the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. “Those who refuse to accept refugees must be rewarded by helping other states with their deportation. This is a complete perversion of the idea of ​​European solidarity, ”Kipping said. It is particularly bitter that the governments of Poland, Hungary and Austria could have prevailed and that the federal government did not have the “moral strength” to send a “clear signal for the protection of refugees and human rights”.

The AfD is critical of the EU plan for other reasons. With a view to the EU, AfD head Jörg Meuthen told WELT: “With her new migration pact, she is trying to combat the symptoms that she has created herself, through more money, more bureaucracy and a solidarity mechanism. that forces other countries to migrate or for them. The consequences of this payment. This will lead to a redistribution of illegal immigrants in Europe. And it will not prevent a single migrant from leaving for Europe. ”According to Meuthen, these problems would not be solved “If one finally followed a rigorous policy of no return.”

The EU wants to “manage” past migration, Meuthen said. “It is not about managing current migration, but about preventing it, because it endangers our identity, our prosperity and our security.” They can be prevented by deporting those forced to leave and rejecting from the start those who wish to enter – “turning off the magnet of migration.”

The Integration Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Joachim Stamp (FDP), for his part, evaluated the Brussels proposals as a first step: “We need an asylum system in which all European countries cooperate in solidarity,” he said. “Humanity and order are possible when we go from irregular to regular migration. This includes easier access to the European labor market for job seekers, the relocation of those who have actually been persecuted and the repatriation of rejected asylum seekers. “

“Europe must move away from ad hoc solutions”

Systematic migration agreements with countries of origin and transit should form the basis. A responsible coordinator is needed for this. “The Commission proposal is a basis that needs to be further specified. There must be a clear set of rules, and now there must be no false solution that sticks the different positions in Europe with compromise formulas. “

The president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had previously asked the governments of the EU states to support the new proposals. “The old system … no longer works,” he said in Brussels. “Europe needs to move away from ad hoc solutions and introduce a predictable and reliable system to manage migration.”

The proposals are pragmatic and realistic and offer a “fair and appropriate balance between responsibility and solidarity between Member States”. “Together we have to show that Europe manages migration humanely and effectively,” said von der Leyen.

On Tuesday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz had already declared the distribution of refugees in the EU “failed”. “Many states reject that. That won’t work either, “said the conservative politician. He welcomed the Commission’s new approach to the issue of migration. However, Kurz rejected the use of terms like “solidarity” in the immigration debate.

The Union faction in the Bundestag rejected Kurz’s criticism. “The Commission’s proposal to reform the common European asylum policy contains both lights and shadows. It would be premature and a mistake to declare it ‘failed’ now, as the Austrian Chancellor did, ”said the vice-president of the Union’s parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei (CDU). It is essential that “finally there is a concrete working base on the table. Now we want to do everything possible in the coming months to establish a fair burden sharing in Europe that relieves Germany and the other countries mainly affected so far. “

This requires strong protection of the external borders, consistent procedures at the external borders and, above all, “curbing the illegal internal migration of asylum seekers in the EU, which has a strong negative impact on Germany”. Frei welcomed the fact that the EU Commission focused for the first time on the return of rejected asylum seekers. The repatriations are nothing less than a very clear signal: anyone who does not need protection and yet applies for asylum, “has no prospect of staying in Europe and should not leave for our continent. All regulations come to naught if there is a lack of will or ability to consistently enforce negative asylum decisions. “If the proposals of the EU Commission will lead to more returns is the question,” More than others about the success and failure of the Global reform decides. “

The internal political spokesperson for the Union parliamentary group, Mathias Middelberg (CDU), mentioned the key points of the reform: “Asylum applications must be submitted and examined at the European external border. If there is no authorization of protection, the rejection or return must take place directly from there ”. Furthermore, secondary migration within Europe should be avoided, Middelberg said: “Member States that were once held accountable for applicants must remain accountable for this permanently. Then there can only be the right to social benefits in these countries. “

The Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth (SPD), also criticized Kurz for rejecting the distribution of refugees. “Now I would advise everyone not to veto again and not create blockades,” Roth told Deutschlandfunk. “You can’t just shirk your responsibility.” The EU has experienced lockdowns on the issue for the past five years since the height of the refugee crisis. “It will not work without a common understanding of solidarity, humanity and shared responsibility.”