Sven Giegold, the deputy chair of the Green Party, has called for the EU to sanction Germany for its actions at the border. In a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which is reported in the “Tagesspiegel” (Thursday edition), Giegold demands that a breach of contract procedure be initiated against Germany.
According to Giegold, “to my knowledge, no new government of a large member state has ever taken the breach of European law as its first act.” As State Secretary in the Ministry of Economics, he was responsible for ensuring compliance with European law during the coalition years and now he is concerned about the deportations. “This jeopardizes the foundations of the European Union, which is based on the precedence of European law over national law” writes Giegold, who sat in the European Parliament from 2009 to 2021.
In particular, the blanket deportation of asylum seekers at the German external borders is argued to be non-compliant with EU law, according to the 55-year-old. “These deportations are carried out systematically and not only in individual cases.” The EU cannot measure with two standards, writes the Green Party deputy. His request to von der Leyen: “Therefore, I formally ask you, as a German citizen and as a citizen of the Union, to immediately take action against the violation of European law by the Federal Republic of Germany.” He himself has filed a complaint on the EU Commission’s portal.