Germany's migration policy, challenges and the search for solutions

In Germany, the tone of the decision-making debates regarding refugee and asylum policies has been sharpening for weeks. State officials, who feel they are on the verge of an impasse and criticize the federal government due to unanswered questions, want migration to be brought under controlandmanaged as soon as possible, with their primary demands being the creation of a sustainable aid budget for refugees and the acceleration of deportation processes for asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that there are too many people coming to Germany, and therefore, limiting irregular migration has become a duty for the government. While noting that they are preparing a deportation package in this direction, he emphasized that asylum seekers who are truly in need of protection will be excluded from this regulation.

At the same time, expressing that Germany needs skilled labor and that migration can play an important role in meeting this need, Scholz said, "Instead of blaming each other, we need to seek a common solution," while taking all arguments into consideration.

Making a statement in support of the government, which had previously reached a consensus on this issue, Economy Minister Habeck, in his speech in Berlin, "Whoever wants to stay here for a long time must exit the social welfare system and enter the workforce" he said.

Interior Minister Faeser meanwhile, emphasized in a draft she prepared on the subject that the deportation of human traffickers and criminals sentenced to at least one year in prison should also be facilitated.

Other proposed solutions expected to be discussed in the Council of Ministers are as follows:

–          A mandatory community service requirement for refugee applicants could be brought to the agenda.

—          Refugees could be channeled into community service jobs by municipalities, ensuring they begin working as soon as they are admitted into the country. In this way, the pressure of refugee-related expenses on local governments could be reduced.

—          It is on the agenda that aid provided to refugees will henceforth be issued via a payment card that can only be used for shopping, rather than in cash. With this proposal, the aim is to prevent misleading incentives for those considering coming to Germany.

While draft proposals for measures to be taken within the country are being prepared, Chancellor Scholz and Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, in a joint press conference in Berlin, announced their decision to cooperate on this issue. They reported that the technical security of the Bulgaria-Turkey border has been increased through drones and cameras, and that illegal entries at this border have been significantly reduced following the measures taken.

At the end of the statement, Chancellor Scholz, who thanked Prime Minister Nikolaj Denkow by emphasizing that supporting EU external border countries is a common duty, reiterated Germany's support for Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Area.

It would be useful to open a parenthesis regarding the reasons why the newmigrationpolicy debates are so intense. In Germany, alongside the refugee crisis, sensitivities triggered by stagnant economic growth and negative trends in the labor market have paved the way for the rise of far-right parties.

In this context, far-right populist movements such as the AfD and the FW in the Bavaria region, which focus more on voter groups with lower socioeconomic status and uncertain professional and social prospects, have made significant gains in the political arena by exploiting public sensitivities regarding national identity, racism, the influx of refugees, security issues, and public welfare.

When we look at the local election results, especially in the states of Hesse and Bavaria, we see that the AfD received 18.4% of the vote in Hesse.In Bavaria, we see that the FW with 15.8% and the AfD with 14.6% of the vote have surpassed the SPD and FDP in the state of Bavaria, and the FDP and the Left party in the state of Hesse, and it should be emphasized that the FDP, the Greens, and the SPD are the parties that make up the main coalition.that it is necessary to emphasize.

Both the fact that the 233,744 asylum applications in Germany between January and September 2023 showed a 73% increase compared to the previous year, and the rise of the far-right, have influenced the rhetoric of coalition parties and opposition parties regarding the refugee crisis.

So much so that the Green party, which draws attention with its humanist approaches, called its party to compromise through Baden-Württemberg Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann at a party meeting in Weingarten, "If we constantly push the limits of societal acceptance in the name of humanity, we will lose the support of the citizens" he warned.

At the meeting held at the Chancellery on October 14, the CDU and CSU submitted their 26-point list of demands regarding immigration law to Olaf Scholz and the coalition parties. However, many of these items are controversial and are even demands that are very difficult to implement.

It is thought that these demands will create intense pressure on the coalition partiesand will make it difficult to find common ground.However,commentators suggest that the crucial point is not for Chancellor Olaf Scholz to reach an agreement with the CDU/CSU parties, but rather that reaching an agreement with the federal states is more important.

As Germany's search for balance on the migration and refugee issue continues, influenced by many factors both inside and outside the country, the plan is for the next meeting on November 6 to answer outstanding questions and prepare the decisions to be taken.