Leading SPD Interior Politicians Reject Friedrich Merz’s Demand for a “Practical Entry Ban”.
“The rejection of all people, regardless of whether they are in need of protection or not, at the German borders, as Friedrich Merz and the Union are demanding, is ruled out by the SPD”, said Dirk Wiese, deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, to the “Stern”. “The proposal is illegal, contradicts the European idea and would not stand in any court”.
Sebastian Hartmann, the SPD’s parliamentary group’s internal affairs spokesperson, accused Merz of “not thinking through the topic again” and said that “his demand for comprehensive and blanket rejections at the German borders is illegal – and under no circumstances to be made with the SPD”. As for rejections at the border, “we are already doing what the European legal framework allows and we are fully exploiting our options”, Hartmann said.
The asylum policy could thus become the central hurdle for a possible grand coalition after the federal election. CDU chancellor candidate Merz had demanded comprehensive rejections at German borders after the Aschaffenburg attack in late January. Even people who want to submit asylum applications should no longer be allowed to enter. There would be a “practical entry ban”.