In terms of migration policy, the FDP had already accused the Greens of being naïve in the election campaign;

the Greens were therefore concerned that the FDP would endeavor not to leave an open flank on the right.

But the negotiations then turned out to be less complicated than feared.

The three parties share the view that it is time to designate Germany as a country of immigration.

Despite various immigration laws, the previous governments had avoided this avowal.

Helene Bubrowski

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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The traffic light parties want to reform the citizenship law and in particular to simplify the acquisition of German citizenship. As a rule, naturalization should be possible after five years, with special integration achievements after three years. Children born in Germany to foreign parents will become German when they are born if one parent has been resident in Germany for five years. The SPD, Greens and FDP also want to facilitate naturalization for members of the so-called guest worker generation by lowering the language level to be proven.

In terms of migration policy, the three parties have agreed to reduce irregular migration and enable regular migration - a common formulation that the grand coalition has often used. Still, some things should change. The traffic light wants to replace the previous practice of chain tolerance of people who cannot be deported with a so-called "opportunity right of residence": Anyone who has lived in Germany for five years from January 1, 2022 and has not committed a criminal offense and is free -democratic basic order, should receive a one-year residence permit on probation in order to create the remaining requirements for a right of residence during this time, in particular to secure a livelihood.

The three parties also want to start with the tolerance. Well-integrated young people should be given the right to stay after just three years - instead of the previous four. In contrast to the exploratory paper, the term "lane change" is not in the coalition agreement, but the traffic light wants to continue to facilitate the change from the asylum system to skilled immigration by making the requirements for tolerance of employment "realistic and more practical", as stated in the coalition agreement.

According to the future coalition partners, asylum procedures must be “fair, expeditious and legally secure”. The revocation check of refugee status is to be carried out again on an ad-hoc basis in the future. However, the coalition agreement also mentions a “repatriation offensive” in order to implement emigration more consistently, in particular the deportation of criminals and those at risk. The federal government wants to give the federal states more support in the event of deportations. There is no mention of “safe countries of origin” in the contract, but there is a similar idea: Asylum applications from countries with low recognition rates should be prioritized in order to accelerate the process.

The traffic light builds on the efforts of the previous government to reform the European asylum system.

Their aim is also a fair distribution of responsibility and competence for admission between the EU states.

The traffic light wants to combat the causes of the life-threatening flight and end illegal rejections and suffering at the external borders.

Against the background of the conflict with Belarus, it is stipulated that Germany must not be open to blackmail.