German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has expressed agreement with the course of action proposed by Christian Democratic Union (CDU) candidate Friedrich Merz in the debate over migration policy. “We’re not as far apart as one might think” Faeser told Politico news magazine. Border rejections in Germany have already reached 44,000 since October 2023, she added.
However, Faeser also pointed out that the CDU’s plans to reject all asylum seekers are not legally sustainable under European Union law. “Where Mr. Merz has a point is that we have a non-functional Dublin system” the SPD politician said. “This means that if people have already applied for asylum in another EU country, the return of asylum seekers from Germany to those countries does not work well.”
The goal is to reduce the numbers of migrants, Faeser emphasized. “We are entirely in line with the CDU on this. As a social democratic party, we also want to reduce irregular migration and that’s a shared goal.” The public has a right to a middle-ground agreement, Faeser said. “It’s not about one side dictating to the other what to do, but about finding a compromise and that’s important in a democracy.