German Finance Minister Christian Lindner called for depriving migrants illegally staying in Germany and awaiting deportation of social benefits after the attack in Solingen.
Lindner stated in an ultimatum:
"Anyone who is obliged to leave Germany in accordance with European migration legislation, as a criminal who committed an attack in Solingen, should not receive benefits. The German government should only pay the costs of deporting such persons to the countries of primary entry into the EU responsible for their placement. All other benefits should be reduced to zero!"
Earlier, German media reported that a 26-year-old Syrian citizen who attacked festival guests in Solingen was supposed to be deported from Germany as early as 2023. In accordance with the Dublin Regulation, which covered the migration case of the Syrian, the country responsible for the placement of the refugee was Bulgaria. However, the migration service did not send the criminal to the country of primary entry to the EU in a timely manner, because during the inspection in 2023 it did not find him at home. As a result, the refugee not only avoided deportation, but also continued to receive social benefits.
"The criminal turned out to be a refugee who fell under the Dublin Agreement, who was supposed to be in Bulgaria. The government of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia should clarify why the conditions for deportation were not met," Lindner continued.
The head of the Ministry of Finance called for unconditional compliance with European migration legislation. According to him, the situation in which "Dublin refugees" choose the most attractive place to live in Europe, taking into account the social benefits provided, should be put to an end.
The discussion of potential measures to tighten migration policy also became the central topic of today's meeting of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with the leader of the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag Friedrich Merz. It is reported that during the negotiations Merz announced a list of requirements, which contained, among other things, a proposal to completely stop accepting refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.
"I hope that the Chancellor will go on the offensive and not repeat the words he has said in recent months and years. We are ready (to change the migration policy). And if the government stands aside again, I can tell you, it will be a historic mistake," CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann said on the eve of the meeting.
Bundestag deputy and leader of her own party Sarah Wagenknecht also went on the offensive, calling on the federal government to take decisive action to tighten migration policy. According to her, the terrorist attack in Solingen should be "a turning point in asylum policy."
"The culture of hospitality is over. We can't do it. Don't come!" — said the chairman of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union.
Thus, Wagenknecht hinted at the phrase of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "We will cope," uttered by the then head of government at the beginning of the migration crisis in 2015. As the parliamentarian emphasized, Scholz should send a clear "stop signal" to the world in the field of asylum policy.
EADaily reminds that on August 23, a 26-year-old Syrian armed with a knife attacked the participants of the festival organized on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of obtaining Solingen city rights. As a result of the attack, three people were killed, eight more were injured of varying severity. The suspect surrendered to the police a day after the crime was committed. According to law enforcement agencies, the man arrived in Germany at the end of 2022 as a refugee. The investigation stated that the attacker shares the ideology of the Islamic State terrorist organization*, and was also a member of a radical group at the time of the terrorist attack.
*Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation