Germany: 50 organisations calling on the Federal Government, no agreements to the detriment of refugees and asylum seekers

“During the discussions on the reform of the EU asylum law, what is being negotiated is in fact out of the question: the promise that fleeing people must find protection there as soon as they set foot in the EU. We are increasingly worried to see that many people are prepared to undermine this fundamental principle”. This was said by Steffen Feldmann, member of the German Caritas Council for international affairs, in response to the publication of a call from over 50 organisations to the Federal Government: in their appeal, they ask the Federal Government not to come to any agreement to the detriment of the refugees’ protection. The German bargaining stance announced in late April “shows a worrying preparedness to give way to the progressive devaluation of fundamental rights”. “The current reform proposals do not only shake the foundations of the rule of law, they will also aggravate the existing problems of the European asylum system”, states the appeal, which points out that the EU’s dysfunctional asylum system based on the Dublin Regulation, whereby countries on the external borders of the EU are mainly responsible for conducting asylum procedures and are therefore overburdened, should not be revived but repealed, instead. “Such system is already leading thousands of people to be detainees in degrading conditions in camps without prospects”, such as in the Greek islands. “The guiding principle for political decisions should always be the humane treatment of people seeking protection”, Feldmann points out.
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