A political firestorm erupted in Germany and reverberated across the European Union on Thursday after the country’s conservative opposition joined forces with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to ram through a controversial motion demanding a major overhaul of asylum and migration policies. The contentious Bundestag vote, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz decried as an “unforgivable mistake,” triggered a frenzy of activity in Brussels and other European capitals as EU ministers gathered in Warsaw for crisis talks on how to respond to the German proposal.
Far-Right Finds Unlikely Ally in Migration Battle
In a move that sent shockwaves through the German political establishment, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), teamed up with the nationalist, anti-immigration AfD to secure a majority for a motion that would impose drastic new restrictions on asylum seekers and reintroduce border controls within the passport-free Schengen area. The unlikely alliance between mainstream conservatives and the far-right fringe underscored the political pressure in Germany to take a harder line on migration in the wake of the 2015 refugee crisis.
The CDU/CSU, which opinion polls suggest could return to power in next month’s general election, insisted the measures were necessary to restore order and reduce the strain on Germany’s asylum system. But critics slammed the maneuver as a dangerous legitimization of the AfD’s xenophobic agenda and argued the proposals would violate EU laws and principles. Chancellor Scholz, whose center-left government has resisted calls to crack down on asylum seekers, blasted the conservative-far-right partnership as “irresponsible and oblivious to history.”
EU Scrambles to Forge United Response
News of the controversial Bundestag motion reverberated in the halls of the European Union on Thursday as interior and justice ministers from across the bloc gathered in Warsaw for previously scheduled talks on migration management and asylum policy. The German domestic debate suddenly took center stage, with EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner acknowledging mounting political pressure to take a firmer hand in returning failed asylum seekers to their home countries.
“Nobody understands why people [who] are not allowed to, cannot stay in the European Union are not going to be returned, and that is why we are working on new, tighter rules also on returns,” Brunner said.
But despite recognizing the need for a more effective and coordinated EU migration policy, several ministers pushed back strongly against the German conservatives’ call to curb free movement within the Schengen zone by reintroducing border controls between member states. Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez argued that internal border checks must remain an “exceptional” and “last resort” measure, warning that suspending Schengen threatened the core values and achievements of the European project.
- Luxembourg’s interior minister Léon Gloden also came out swinging against the German proposals, pointing to the importance of unrestricted travel for his country’s workforce:
- “We do not want to have controls on the internal borders [of the EU]. We have 250,000 commuters coming to work in Luxembourg from Germany, France, and Belgium, so [restoring] border controls on internal borders is not the right solution for our country.”
Scholz Government Walks Tightrope
For the embattled Scholz government in Berlin, the conservative-far-right migration proposals present a perilous political and legal minefield. The chancellor has vowed to block any measures that violate the German constitution or EU law, warning that the country’s reputation as a reliable European partner is at stake. But with public opinion increasingly anxious over migration and the CDU/CSU poised for a potential return to power, Scholz faces an uphill battle to hold the line without being seen as weak on border security.
In a telling sign of the shifting political winds, a recent poll found that over 60% of Germans back the controversial migration proposals, including a majority of voters from Scholz’s own Social Democratic Party. The chancellor has few good options to resolve the crisis without alienating either his European allies or his own increasingly restless electorate.
Europe’s Migration Dilemma
The explosive developments in Germany have thrown into sharp relief the enduring challenges and divisions in Europe over how to handle migration from conflict zones and less developed regions. While the EU has taken significant steps since the 2015 refugee crisis to bolster its external borders and support frontline states, a common European asylum system and burden-sharing mechanism remain elusive.
A spike in irregular crossings on the Western Balkans route and deteriorating conditions in refugee camps in Greece and Italy have reignited the debate in recent months. Right-wing parties across Europe have seized on the issue to stoke public fears, forcing a shift towards more hawkish positions on migration even among mainstream politicians. The question now is whether the EU can muster the unity and political will to forge a sustainable, humane and coordinated approach to a problem that has long defied easy answers.
As the EU interior ministers meeting in Warsaw broke up on Thursday without a clear consensus on how to respond to the German conservative-far-right proposals, the only certainty was that the fierce political battle over migration was far from over. With a crucial German election looming and the unity of the European project hanging in the balance, the stakes could scarcely be higher.
