The country leaders met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz to talk about German migration policy. They took stock in a press conference.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), together with Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) and Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD), presented the results of the Prime Minister’s Conference on migration policy on Wednesday. Under the pressure of persistently high numbers of asylum seekers, the state prime ministers met for a meeting. Scholz joined the discussions in the afternoon.
Essentially, it was about Union politicians in particular calling for faster and more consistent implementation of the November decisions. At that time, the federal and state governments agreed on concrete measures to limit irregular migration. Some of the measures have already been implemented by the federal government, and some are still being worked on. However, further demands were made, particularly by the Union-led countries. Here you can read more about it.
Scholz describes conversations as “constructive”
The heads of government of the federal states and Scholz see Germany overall as being on the right track in terms of migration policy, but do not expect a rapid decline in the number of asylum seekers. The Chancellor emphasized in Berlin that “fundamental changes have already been initiated” in recent months.
Scholz praised the discussions with the country leaders as quick and constructive. They have shown what has already been achieved in the last few months. When it comes to limiting irregular migration, we shouldn’t just sit back and relax, but we must “always stick to the issue.” “Anyone who has any sense knows that the issue will concern us, like other European countries, for a long time,” said Scholz.
Rhein: “You also have to remain realistic”
He receives support from Hesse’s Prime Minister Rhein. “You also have to be realistic,” he said. Of course he would have liked the measures to be implemented more quickly, but overall he was satisfied with what had been achieved, said Rhein. He praised the far-reaching decisions in migration policy. The federal and state governments have achieved a lot together in the past few months, said the Hessian CDU head of government.
“I couldn’t have imagined that we would ever achieve so much together, that we would bring so much speed to the topic,” said Rhein. Examples include the payment card for asylum seekers that has now been approved or the classification of Georgia and Moldova as safe countries of origin. The federal and state governments have shown that they have a common roadmap and are able to act, emphasized Rhein. Now it’s about “implementing all of this consistently.”
Regarding the payment card, Rhein expressed the hope that it could be introduced nationwide in the summer. He would also like the country heads to be informed by then about possible asylum procedures in third countries. The federal government is currently examining options in this regard. However, the states have now set a deadline for the federal government to do so.
No decision on a possible upper limit for refugees
When asked, Rhein described the demands for an upper limit for the admission of asylum seekers as worthy of discussion. He personally finds the debate initiated by party colleagues about an upper limit for asylum seekers legitimate. Union politicians such as Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) had previously brought this into play. “This is a contribution to the discussion that we can talk about,” said Rhein.
Prime Minister Weil (SPD) warned against getting lost in the discussion about an upper limit for asylum seekers. “I make no secret of my skepticism,” he said. The reason he cited was legal hurdles that would stand in the way of possible implementation. There was no decision in this regard at the Prime Minister’s Conference.
