The agreement on the Asylum and Migration Deal was met again with high levels of contention among the co-governing German Green party, forcing its leadership to justify the outcome and calm their party base.
The Asylum and Migration Deal has always been heavily discussed and was divisive among and for the German Greens, it has split the base from their leadership in governing positions.
“For the first time, the EU member states must show solidarity. This means we are finally moving towards a European distribution,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens).
However, she admitted to difficult negotiations, having her dissatisfied voter base in mind.
Back when member states first agreed on their negotiation position, the problem for the Green party was already apparent, and Baerbock was forced to calm critics within. She was adamant about exempting minors from the rapid asylum procedures at the outer EU borders in the negotiations with the European Parliament after failing to secure the same for families within the Council’s position.
However, “the truth is that every agreement in Brussels is always a compromise. As Germany, we were unable to push through the blanket exemption of children and families from border procedures,” she said.
Baerbock’s difficult position comes from the fact that the tightening of the EU asylum procedure goes against the fundamental conviction of the Greens, with their party programme stating that “asylum checks at the external border are not compatible” with their approach to migration.
EU migration deal bitter pill for Germany
A new agreement between EU member states to tighten migration rules, and levy charges of €20,000 for each migrant a state refuses to accept was met with disappointment in Germany, with parts of the governing Greens and the SPD opposing …
EU Parliament German Greens speaker Rasmus Andresen said on X that “the new EU asylum package is worrying.” He supports that a start towards a fair distribution of refugees has been made. However, “we strongly criticise the massive violations of fundamental rights, such as the detention of children at the external borders.”
In November, at the Greens’ party conference, the Green Youth failed to prohibit their ministers and parliamentary groups from approving any tightening of asylum laws. Consequently, the party leadership was allowed to proceed with the negotiations.
Katharina Stolla, Co-Chair of the Green Youth, told Handelsblatt that the agreement is an “anti-human isolationist package” and demanded a withdrawal of the German approval,
Soothing words also came from Chairman of the Greens Omid Nouripour: “The current situation at the European borders is unbearable. […] That is why we were prepared to enter into difficult negotiations on a reform of the European asylum system.” Nonetheless, “the results contain painful points in many areas. For example, we continue to criticise the obligation of external border states to carry out procedures at the borders,” he posted
(Kjeld Neubert | Euractiv.de)
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EU south hails new migration pact but traps remainSouthern European member states such as Greece and Italy rushed to welcome the new EU migration pact, but there are still questions about whether the new rules will ease the burden of first-line countries.
Source: euractiv.com
