Repatriating rejected asylum seekers could be a win-win situation if Germany puts that money into funding climate action, Liberal (FDP) parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr proposed in an interview.
According to Dürr, whose party forms part of Germany’s three-way governing coalition, Berlin should put pressure on countries of origin and strike binding agreements to ensure rejected asylum seekers can be sent back.
“We could, for example, tie repatriations to money for climate action: Whoever takes back their compatriots gets support, for instance, for the production of climate-neutral fuels for German cars,” Dürr told Bild, adding this would be “mutually beneficial.”
Dürr’s comments come after the European Commission called on EU countries to find a strong response to the recent growth in immigration to the bloc and outlined plans to ramp up the return of failed asylum seekers.
Migration has also been a prevalent issue of debate among member states, with countries like Austria pushing for strong protection of the EU’s external borders. It is set to be a key topic of discussion for the upcoming meeting of EU leaders on 9 and 10 February.
According to Commission data, almost 924,000 asylum applications were submitted in the EU in 2022 – an almost 47% increase compared to the previous year.
In Germany, meanwhile, the governing coalition has committed itself to modernise the country’s immigration policy with the aim of reducing irregular migration while attracting legal immigrants to help combat the country’s labour shortage.
(Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
