A parliamentary leader of the CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag, Thorsten Frei, has signaled willingness to compromise with the SPD on the issue of migration. According to Frei, in an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, no one in the CDU/CSU has discussed border closures, as it would not be economically feasible. He emphasized that borders cannot be hermetically sealed.
Regarding the proposed revision of the Common European Asylum System (GEAS) as a possible compromise in coalition negotiations with the SPD, Frei denied its feasibility. GEAS, he stated, would not solve the problems. The planned 30,000 places for asylum procedures are a fraction of what is needed and the 12-week timeframe for the procedures is too short. As a result, those whose procedures are not completed within this timeframe would be allowed to enter Europe and continue to move forward, essentially changing nothing substantial.
Frei also mentioned the possibility of an agreement on a special fund for better equipping the German military as a trust-building measure, sending a signal to the population that parties of the political center can work together for the good of the country, setting aside party political considerations. Frei perceives a “real, grown threat of war” and stated that the country cannot rely on the protection of NATO without reservations, citing the parliamentary leader as a confidant of the likely future Chancellor, Friedrich Merz.