‘Refugees’ – Germany’s increasing problem

Thomas de Maizière, the German Minister of the Interior, released a statement on 13 September that controls had been reintroduced on Germany’s border with Austria. This move was expected to stem the uncontrolled flow of immigrants wishing to seek asylum in Germany. De Maizière said that this decision was a signal to Europe that the crisis can only be resolved through a shared effort undertaken by the community as a whole. In his opinion, Germany cannot be responsible for most of the refugees coming to the EU, and the Dublin III Regulation is still in force, meaning that refugees cannot freely choose the country of their stay and should seek international protection in the first EU member state they arrive in. The German government’s decision has been criticised by the opposition. According to the Green Party, this decision is intended to cover up the true scale of the government’s failure and negligence. At the same time, it has revealed a conflict emerging between the federal government and the local governments as well as an internal conflict between the various Christian Democrat factions, especially between the CDU and the CSU (the latter of which is the governing party in Bavaria). Chancellor Angela Merkel has not developed a comprehensive solution to the crisis as yet and is (seemingly) making efforts only to deal with the most pressing issues. Border checks were reintroduced in response to the chaos at Munich railway station and to the dramatic appeals from the city government in the media. Merkel hopes that Germany will manage to convince the other EU member states to ‘share the burden according to the principles of solidarity’. Meanwhile, some German politicians insist that fines should be imposed on those EU member states which oppose the obligatory quota system.

• Primary Source

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

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