Thuringia’s Minister-President Mario Voigt of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has announced a “change of direction in migration policy” for the free state.
Voigt told the Welt newspaper, “In migration policy, we need clear rules and fair chances. We are a welcoming country. Every fourth clinic doctor in our state has a migration background. Whoever comes to us, wants to work here, pays taxes, and respects the rules, is warmly welcome. Whoever commits a crime or overuses the social systems without a right to stay, must leave.”
Thuringia currently lacks its own deportation facilities. “That will change” Voigt stated, “Generally, whoever has no right to stay in the country must leave. We will also focus on issues like the nationwide introduction of a payment card, as the Thuringian municipalities have already taken the lead.”
Voigt emphasized that those who come to Germany and receive social benefits must provide a counter-performance. “I support the creation of work obligations in communal shelters by Thuringian districts. We also want to establish a central foreign authority, which will handle the intake, recognition of qualifications, integration, and repatriation. This will benefit the economy” he said.
Voigt rejected demands from within his own party to abolish the Office of the Commissioner for the East, stating, “No smartphone in the world works without technology from Thuringia or Saxony. We have a lot to offer. Despite this, the Commissioner for the East can be an important bridge function for the still existing special needs of the eastern German states, even after 35 years of reunification.”
According to Voigt, the Commissioner for the East represents “targeted support and is an expression of the overall German responsibility, not a dependence or a symbolic holding of hands.” “Thuringia’s Minister-President will continue to pay attention to the special needs of the East, including lower wages, rural exodus, and lower investments, which require continued targeted political attention.”
Voigt announced that he will meet with his colleagues in the other eastern German states in mid-February to discuss these issues and aim to “drive in nails for the East” with the new federal government, regardless of its composition. The concept is to ensure that business locations in the East also benefit if the main office is located in the West.