Germany, which closed its borders due to the coronavirus, continues to accept asylum seekers
As reported by "Russkaya Germaniya", at a press conference in Berlin on the day border controls were introduced, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer commented on the new rules as follows: "The current situation requires us to ensure stable basic supplies via regional transport and at the same time limit cross-border passenger travel within Europe to an absolute minimum. Third-country nationals will be able to enter Germany only in a few individual cases – for example, medical personnel. Controls on transport arriving from outside the European Union have also been strengthened.
All EU citizens and their family members, as well as citizens of the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland and their family members, will be able to enter Germany only for the purpose of transit to their own countries. The same applies to third-country nationals with long-term residence rights in EU countries and these five countries. All other citizens will not be allowed into Germany at the border unless they have urgent reasons for entry, which they will have to prove."
But the authors of the new rules also included asylum seekers among the exceptions. True, with a caveat: "Only if they do not show obvious signs of COVID-19 infection." This provoked protests from Bundestag deputies from the CDU/CSU bloc.
Deputy chairman of the faction Thorsten Frei said in an interview that "as part of the fight against the pandemic, it is necessary to stop the illegal internal migration of asylum seekers in the EU by banning the crossing of Germany's borders." As the politician emphasized, "you cannot, on the one hand, refuse citizens of other EU countries entry into Germany, and on the other hand, allow asylum seekers to illegally cross the country's border."
The same opinion is held by his CDU party colleague Armin Schuster: "Health protection has priority. Therefore, the ban on entry into Germany should also apply to asylum seekers. Only if we control all sections of the border can we avoid all cross-border movements through which foreigners try to circumvent these bans," Schuster said.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of asylum seekers entering Germany has decreased in recent weeks. While before the introduction of border controls their number was about 10,000 people per month, after March 16 this figure was measured in the "low double digits." In total, after the closure of borders, Germany accepted about 1,500 refugees. According to Bundestag deputies, Interior Minister Seehofer repeatedly attempted to achieve equal treatment for all those crossing the border, but all his efforts were unsuccessful.
On April 6, the German government held a crisis meeting, during which another proposal by Seehofer on border controls was considered and approved. Now all persons returning to Germany from abroad will be sent into 14-day quarantine, regardless of any specific suspicion of infection. To what extent this will affect asylum seekers is not explained.
Meanwhile, about 140 German cities and municipalities have announced their readiness to accept unaccompanied minor refugees and refugee families with children currently in Greek camps. The federal government has not yet given the green light to this initiative, but its supporters are holding rallies and demonstrations, even despite the quarantine. One such action took place last Sunday in Frankfurt am Main.
About 400 activists with banners and slogans in their hands, maintaining a 1.5-meter distance from each other, stood in a 600-meter human chain for more than an hour. Since this event was not authorized by the city authorities, the police persuaded the demonstrators to disperse. Later, the demonstrators complained that when dispersing them, the police did not observe quarantine distance.