German Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), has aligned himself with his federal counterpart, Alexander Dobrindt, in the government’s internal discussion on migration policy. Herrmann demands that rejections at the borders must continue, citing the need to significantly reduce the number of asylum seekers in Germany.
In a recent interview with the news channel Welt, Herrmann expressed hope that the disagreement between Dobrindt and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), over the need for a rapid justification of rejections at the borders would not escalate into a full-blown coalition crisis. Herrmann believes that the CSU’s position, as outlined in the coalition agreement, is clear and that the majority of the German population supports the rejections at the borders. He is confident that the Interior Ministry will be able to provide the necessary justifications for the rejections without difficulty, as long as the rejections at the borders continue.
Regarding the potential introduction of border controls by Poland in response to Germany’s measures, Herrmann views this as unproblematic, stating that there is no talk of a “shredding” of border controls in Europe, as some might fear. Instead, he emphasizes the need for strict border controls at the external borders of the European Union, as agreed upon at the European level.
Herrmann believes that the current border controls in Germany are necessary because many European countries are either unable or unwilling to properly control their external borders, allowing individuals without proper identification to enter the continent. He emphasizes the need for the EU’s external borders to be better protected and for all member states to implement the agreed-upon measures, at which point the need for internal border controls, such as those currently in place in Germany, would become obsolete.