Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock calls for contingents of Afghan refugees in Europe, the USA and Canada. One now has to prepare for “that more people have to leave their country in such a dramatic situation,” she said in the “Interview of the Week” with Deutschlandfunk. Germany shouldn't wait until all 27 EU countries are in agreement. It is important to "join forces with those European countries that want to, and above all with the Americans and Canadians, so that we can jointly agree on clear quota rules".
The domestic political spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Mathias Middelberg (CDU), disagreed. The demand to accept a large number of Afghan refugees in the European Union was wrong, he told the German Press Agency. “The EU's commitment must primarily be geared towards taking in refugees in the region.” As in the case of Syria, support for Turkey or joint action with the country could be considered here.
"It sends the wrong signals when the Greens immediately demand the admission of all refugees in Germany or the EU in every conflict in the world - especially since the willingness to accept refugees is now very limited in the entire EU," said Middelberg. He pointed out that more than 12,000 people have recently sought asylum per month in Germany and that almost two thirds of Syrians in this country live wholly or partially on Hartz IV.