Participants: Want to look for solutions in migration meetings
Migration Policy Talks: Can CDU, CSU, and Traffic Lights Find Common Ground?
The CDU and CSU are pushing for a tougher approach to migration policy, differing from the traffic lights’ plans. Despite their differences, several participants in the migration meeting expressed their willingness to work together.
A Call for Cooperation
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister, Stephan Weil (SPD), emphasized the importance of understanding and cooperation. “I hope for an understanding: First, what we are talking about and secondly, how things should go on. That would be the goal for today,” he said. However, Weil acknowledged that securing a common outcome on all issues might not be realistic, given the numerous topics and differing views.
Exploring Opportunities for Cooperation
Thorsten Frei, the first parliamentary managing director of the Union faction (CDU), expressed his hopes for the meeting. “We would like to explore with the government whether there is an opportunity, the potential, to achieve something together for the country, and this is what this serves. And of course, we go to these talks hoping that something good will come out of it.”
Differing Expectations
Representatives of the CDU and CSU expect the coalition government to take more far-reaching measures than those outlined in the “security package.” The government introduced this package after the alleged knife attack in Solingen, which was motivated by Islamists. The package includes measures to:
Strengthen the return of rejected asylum seekers to their countries of origin
Fight Islamic terrorism more decisively
* Tighten gun laws
A Fundamental Change is Needed
Frei emphasized the need for a fundamental change in asylum and migration policy in Germany. “In our opinion, a fundamental change is needed in asylum and migration policy in Germany. Improvements in deportations are not enough; rather, the influx into Germany must be limited.”
Serious Efforts Required
Andrea Lindholz, the vice president of the Union’s parliamentary group (CSU), called for “more willingness to change.” She emphasized that the numbers have not dropped significantly, and municipalities are at their limits. Lindholz also stressed the need for serious efforts, rather than just paying lip service to the issue.
A Security Risk for Germany
Hessian Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) insisted that the current situation is a security risk for Germany. “We have to do everything we can to ensure that fewer people come to us, because as it is at the moment, the state and society are overwhelmed. The way it is at the moment is also a security risk for our country.”
Reassessing the Situation in Syria and Afghanistan
The meeting between the traffic light coalition and state representatives on migration policy began in the afternoon at the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin. The consultations were scheduled to last for two hours, until around 5 pm.