Berlin - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, the new German government will adopt a new, stricter approach to curbing illegal immigration and asylum applications, according to what was previously announced by the new government. This comes after outgoing German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser predicted that the number of asylum seekers in Germany would fall to its lowest level in more than a decade this year.
Faeser added in press statements that if the decline in irregular immigration continues at the same significant level as it has over the past two years, the number of asylum seekers in Germany could fall to around 100,000.
Data from the Federal Office for Migration indicates that the last time the number of asylum applications fell below 100,000 was in 2012. In 2024, just under 251,000 applications were registered, down from approximately 352,000 the previous year. Faeser's successor, Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), promised to tighten border controls and increase the number of rejected applications after taking office, telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that "the number of illegal immigrants must be reduced."
The newspaper reported that authorities would send thousands of additional personnel to support border police, while surveillance of border areas, including the air, would be stepped up among the measures Dobrindt intends to implement.
The new German government has pledged to take a tougher stance on immigration in an attempt to erode support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has exploited public frustration over border security. It's worth noting that Germany has witnessed widespread controversy over immigration policies in recent years, especially in light of the rising number of asylum seekers and the associated political and social tensions. The new government appears poised to address this issue with a more restrictive approach than its predecessors.
The new German government, led by incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is preparing to adopt a more restrictive approach to immigration, announcing strict measures that will be implemented at the country's borders starting May 6, upon Merz's swearing-in. According to a report by Euronews, the European news network in Brussels, Thorsten Frei, the incoming head of the Chancellery, announced that authorities will begin rejecting undocumented asylum seekers directly at the border, stressing that "anyone trying to enter Germany illegally must realize that the border will be the end of the road from that date." In statements made to a newspaper affiliated with the Funke media group, Frei explained that the new government intends, from day one, to intensify identity checks at borders and expand security controls, a move that could raise reservations from the European Commission regarding its compatibility with EU law.