German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has announced an initiative with five European counterparts to strengthen the planned European asylum reforms at the European level. Speaking to “Focus” the Minister stated, “As the federal government, we want to refine and toughen the Common European Asylum System (CEAS)”. He added that a joint initiative will be launched with five countries in July, culminating in a unified statement to the European Commission.
Germany is collaborating with France, as well as Czechia, Austria, Poland and Denmark, on this effort. Dobrindt specifically called for the “elimination of the connection element” within the current CEAS framework. Currently, it is stipulated that a refugee’s arrival from a safe third country is only considered such if a “connection” exists between the asylum seeker and that third country.
The Minister emphasized the intention to abolish this requirement while simultaneously strengthening strategic partnerships with third countries. “I believe that the third-country principle is an imperative expansion of the CEAS to ensure that the business model of criminal smuggling gangs is broken” Dobrindt explained.