Germany struggles to stem tide of refugees

Germany struggles to stem tide of refugees

Time is running out for Germany to stem the tide of refugees, authorities warn.

By JANOSCH DELCKER 10/14/15, 8:55 PM CET Updated 10/14/15, 9:29 PM CET

http://www.politico.eu/article/germany-refugees-migrants-transit-struggles-to-stem-tide-of-refugees/

BERLIN — German mayors and police issued a warning Wednesday that the mood regarding refugees is turning sour — even violent — and requires an urgent strategy to stem the tide of migration.

Their stark message coincides with the rejection by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition allies — including her justice minister — of the latest proposal for managing the refugees: setting up “transit zones” on Germany’s borders to hold asylum seekers while their claims are assessed.

The procedure, similar in theory to what already happens in airports but posing very different logistical and legal challenges, would allow authorities to send rejected asylum seekers back to their country of origin more speedily.

According to a large faction of the conservatives — among them Horst Seehofer, the Bavarian state premier who has been highly critical of the chancellor’s welcoming attitude to the refugees — the transit zones would help regain control of the refugee situation, when Germany is bracing for the arrival of anywhere between 800,000 and 1.5 million migrants this year.

However, Justice Minister Heiko Maas, a member of the Social Democrats who are Merkel’s junior partners in government, said in a television interview that his party would not support “crowded camps in no-man’s-land.”

“There are legal concerns and there are practical concerns,” said Maas. “We are currently in a situation in which we estimate there would be 100,000 people per month affected by this procedure at the border, and we reckon this is not manageable.”

Rainer Wendt, head of the German police union, put it even more bluntly: In order for transit zones to be effective, Germany would face the impossible task of having to build a fence along its massive border. Berlin has been highly critical of the hardline government of fellow EU member Hungary for building a razor-wire fence on its border with Serbia to keep migrants out.

“Without a border fence, you can’t organize transit zones,” said Wendt.

He told a joint news conference with an association representing German cities and municipalities, warning that violence was affecting refugee shelters more and more frequently. Clashes are taking place between refugees in the shelters and there are also racially-motivated attacks from the outside, including attempted arson on housing set aside for asylum seekers.

“Time is running out fast — in some municipalities it’s already too late,” said Gerd Landsberg, head of the association. “We are observing how the mood is beginning to shift in many municipalities in Germany.”

“We need a national, a European and an international strategy to reduce the influx — and we don’t need it at some point, we need it now,” Landsberg said.

Germany has had a rude awakening from the “September fairy-tale,” when Merkel encouraged an open-doors approach to the flow of refugees from war zones like Syria and Afghanistan and ordinary Germans welcomed trainloads of weary migrants who had been shunted on from Hungary via Austria.

She performed a prompt U-turn, reintroducing border controls, but the country still has to find housing and schools for the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are already in Germany or on their way. The media has been highlighting cases like the village Sumte, normally home to 100 people, which is to house up to 1,000 refugees in an empty office complex.

Merkel was scheduled to meet other European leaders Thursday for a summit that will primarily deal with how to secure the EU’s external borders and reducing the influx of refugees.

Margaritis Schinas, a spokesperson for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said earlier this week in Brussels that although transit zones “help manage the movement of people in airports,” their use on land borders as championed by the German conservatives “could only be exceptional measures for a limited amount of time.”

So far, Merkel has been vague about her view of the transit zone proposal, telling a party meeting on Monday night that they might help in certain cases but would not solve the problem.

Authors:

Janosch Delcker