Düsseldorf
In the migration debate, Brandenburg Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) advocated the abolition of the existing right to asylum. “Individual asylum rights are no longer necessary in the Basic Law, since under the provisions of the Geneva Refugee Convention we grant protection to persecuted people,” the chairman of the Council of Interior Ministers (IMK) told the “Handelsblatt”. “That is why I support the inclusion of the Geneva Refugee Convention in the Basic Law as an institutional guarantee.”
Stübgen made the proposal a few days before the AfD’s likely victory in the state elections. Without an asylum law, it would be possible to introduce a refugee quota system, the domestic politician stressed. “Then we decide who comes to our country. And we can decide to what extent we can accept and integrate immigrants.” Similar proposals have already been made by the coalition. Stübgen, however, seems to think that a change in the basic law is unlikely. “That’s why we are concentrating on what is possible now.”
Stübgen: First, decide on a national emergency.
The minister called for a national emergency to be declared so that people seeking protection could be turned back at the border. He told the paper that he was confident this was legally possible, even though the number of new arrivals was currently declining. “We can no longer afford to bear the burden.” Negotiations with neighboring countries would be necessary for the refusal to succeed.
“I would recommend that Foreign Minister Annalena Behrbock reduce her visits to Israel a bit and discuss with her neighbors a bit more how they would react if we declared a state of emergency,” he said, referring to the Green Party politician. There has already been sharp criticism in Poland and Austria about the possibility of asylum seekers being rejected at the German border. The coalition has long called for this.
Previously, it was customary for asylum seekers to be found at the border to check whether they had already made a corresponding application in another EU country or could have made one. Under the so-called Dublin procedure, they could return there with the consent of this country. However, this necessary consent is often not granted and those seeking protection remain in Germany.
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