Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party has sharply criticized the Union’s migration plans for the time after the federal election.
“We need to steer migration with humanity and order, not with illusions” the Green Party politician told the Tagesspiegel. Baerbock considers the plans, which were reaffirmed on the CDU party conference on Monday as part of an emergency program, to be unrefined. “The Union’s proposals for a general closure do nothing but pretend that Germany’s European neighbors do not exist” Baerbock said.
It is a monumental task to effectively and sustainably reduce unorganized migration to Europe and at the same time secure the European internal market as a driving force of prosperity. This task can only be overcome jointly in Europe. “That is why Germany also adheres to European law. That is why there can be no solo performances that would shake the trust of our European partners in us. And that is why we have negotiated the reform of the European asylum system, GEAS, in Brussels” Baerbock told the Tagesspiegel.
GEAS, which still needs to be approved nationally in Germany by 2026, improves the securing of the EU external border, accelerates deportations and distributes asylum seekers more fairly. “This is no theory, it is European realpolitik – pragmatic, responsible and implementable” Baerbock said, appealing to the Union to support GEAS: “Those who want stable solutions need European cooperation, not populist slogans. The Union must now engage with the content instead of recklessly putting European agreements at risk.