You are currently viewing #Factoftheday 05/07/2018 – Angela Merkel to establish “anchor centres” for migrants at Germany’s borders

#Factoftheday 05/07/2018 – Angela Merkel to establish “anchor centres” for migrants at Germany’s borders

As stated by ALDE MEP Guy Verhofstadt, the migration crisis is not just a humanitarian emergency anymore but an ongoing “political crisis on the back of migrants”.

The latest controversy involves Angela Merkel who “was given a fresh migration crisis headache” after Austria threatened to “take measures to protect its borders” if Germany imposed restrictions on refugees as previously announced by the German chancellor. The new policy, which would see migrants entering Germany held in anchor centres and potentially sent back to other EU countries if they had already registered somewhere else, is part of a deal agreed by Angela Merkel and the CSU leader and German interior minister Horst Seehofer. The Bavarian CSU party had originally threatened to send police to the German border to turn away refugees who had indeed registered in other EU countries. The compromise policy of setting transit centres would allow asylum seekers who had already registered in a different EU country to return with the agreement of that country. However, Austria fears that such measure would make it the final destination for more migrants and create “disadvantages for Austria and its people”. Speaking at the European Parliament, the Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for a “paradigm shift in migration” and claimed that “a Europe without internal borders” would only be possible “in-the long term” with the appropriate reforms.

Despite a significant fall in the number of refugees and migrants reaching Europe in 2017, particularly in Germany, “the issue has rocketed up the political agenda after gains for the far-right in elections across the continent”. Far-right anti-immigration parties now dominate the political scene in governments like Italy and Austria, with populists also in charge in Eastern states like Poland and Hungary.

Gabriella Cinque

For further information:

Deursche Welle < https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-angela-merkel-strikes-conciliatory-note-on-migrants-in-bundestag-speech/a-44515465 >

Independent < https://independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-migration-merkel-immigration-border-new-asylum-policy-eu-a8429286.html  >

Léon De Tombeur

Diplômé en Histoire à la Sorbonne et en Relations Internationales à Lyon III, je me suis notamment intéressé à la politique internationale de l’Union européenne. Animé par un désir de contribuer à l’Europe afin de la rendre plus sociale et respectueuse de l’environnement, je me suis rendu à Bruxelles afin de travailler de concert avec les institutions européennes. Ma spécialisation tend davantage vers le domaine de la défense et de la sécurité, j’ai réalisé mon mémoire de fin d’études sur le futur de la défense anti-missile du continent européen. C’est pourquoi j’ai choisi le portefeuille de la coopération judiciaire et policière.

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