Asylum policy: SPD puts pressure on the Greens

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Dirk Wiese (SPD)

Photo: Jörg Carstensen / dpa

The SPD is calling on the Greens to agree to the EU compromise on asylum reform. "After years of stagnation, the CEAS reform is a sign of Europe's ability to act and the core of German interests in Europe," Dirk Wiese, deputy parliamentary group leader and domestic politician of the SPD parliamentary group, told SPIEGEL.

"A common, clear European positioning of the Federal Government for a compromise in Brussels with the European Parliament is essential in these challenging times," Wiese continued. "Consideration for election campaigns or inner-party sensitivities among the Greens must not play a role now."

Ahead of a meeting of interior ministers on Thursday, the Greens are coming under increasing pressure. They are considered responsible for the fact that the federal government has not yet agreed to the so-called crisis ordinance.

Reform must not "fail because of Germany"

The dispute is specifically about the fact that the government did not want to support a proposal by the Spanish EU Council Presidency for the crisis regulation in July. As a result, the EU member states were unable to position themselves in favour of negotiations with the European Parliament. The Crisis Ordinance stipulates that migrants and their families can be detained in shelters for up to 40 weeks in exceptional situations.

Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had justified the attitude of the German government at the weekend no longer with human rights concerns, but with the danger of an even greater influx of migrants to Germany. This is criticized in Brussels, but also by parts of the SPD and FDP, as a political maneuver before the elections in Bavaria and Hesse. In both countries, a new state parliament will be elected on 8 October.

Katja Mast, First Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD parliamentary group, said on Wednesday that the federal government would develop a common position on the crisis ordinance by Thursday. The aim is to ensure that the reform "does not fail because of Germany".

Cte