One of the main points that drew criticism from experts was the integration of refugees living in Germany
An expert council consisting of nine scientists from various fields presented its annual report on migration in Berlin this week. As Deutsche Welle notes, the migration policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel received generally high praise from experts of the German Foundation for Integration and Migration (SVR). Meanwhile, some of them described the situation with refugee reception in Europe as catastrophic.
In the 200-page report, the experts attempted to reflect all the nuances of the current migration situation, noting that much in Germany in this regard may be subject to criticism. The main points that drew criticism from experts were migration control and the integration of refugees living in Germany.
Did Germany cope with the migration crisis?
“One can ask whether Germany is ready for the next migration crisis,” says Hans Vorländer, a political scientist at the Technical University of Dresden who heads the expert group that prepared the migration report. “I would say yes, it is ready. Initially, the influx of migrants caused shock. This situation became a stress test for Germany. But it seems that Germany handled this test well. And now it is better prepared to overcome a migration crisis than in 2015.”
One of the main points that drew criticism from experts was the integration of refugees living in Germany. On the one hand, according to data cited in the report, nearly a third of the refugees who arrived in Germany in 2015 had found work by autumn 2018. Additionally, as sociologist Christian Joppke points out, Germany is the only European country that allows refugees who have successfully integrated to stay in the country and bring their families here.
But on the other hand, experts point out that migration legislation contains provisions that initially determine migrants' chances of obtaining asylum. This means that migrants arriving in Germany from so-called “safe countries of origin” have less chance of staying, and therefore are practically deprived of the opportunity to find work and attend integration courses. This leads to delays in the processing of their asylum applications.
“Migrants with low chances of obtaining asylum can remain in the country for a long time,” states Thomas Bauer, a professor of economics at the University of Bochum. “And not giving them the opportunity to integrate, for example, to attend language courses, can be very costly in the long run. As an economist, I view integration measures as investments.”
Emergency measures of the German authorities in migration policy
Since 2014, Angela Merkel has worked with two different government compositions. Between 2015 and 2016, when the largest influx of refugees poured into the country, the government was forced to take emergency measures. Local authorities, for example, had to house refugees in school gyms converted into temporary accommodation for migrants. Various changes to migration legislation were also hastily adopted.
After the Bundestag elections in autumn 2017 and complex negotiations, a new government was formed in Germany, which led to a tightening of migration policy. The list of “safe countries of origin” was expanded, the procedure for deporting refugees to their home countries was simplified, and the rules allowing asylum seekers to stay in the country were tightened. But on the other hand, Germany expanded opportunities for the integration of those who received asylum here.
Another point that experts drew attention to concerns crimes committed both by migrants themselves and against them. Thus, in 2015, the number of crimes motivated by hatred of migrants doubled compared to 2014. But in 2017, when the migration flow decreased, it fell again. Meanwhile, the number of crimes presumably committed by migrants, on the contrary, increased.
What is the situation in the EU?
Political scientist Petra Bendel from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg considers the situation with refugees at the EU level to be catastrophic. First of all, she points to the lack of common standards in the migration system and significant differences in migration legislation. In all countries where migrants apply for asylum, the rules are different, she acknowledges. And it depends on them whether a person is granted asylum or not.
A pan-European problem has become the issue of creating transit centers for refugees. This initiative of German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer was supposed to speed up the asylum procedure and the deportation of those whose applications were rejected.
Proposals to create such centers outside the EU drew sharp criticism. But even within Germany, transit centers are often spoken of in a negative light. Above all, the conditions in which migrants are held in these centers are criticized.
In the AnkER transit centers (the name is composed of the first German letters of three words: arrival, decision, repatriation), migrants stay from the moment of arrival until the question is decided whether they can remain in Germany or must leave the country. At the same time, the freedom of movement of asylum seekers is restricted.
Each center can accommodate up to 1,500 migrants. At the transit centers, employees of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), the employment agency, and other government agencies involved in the asylum procedure are permanently present.
Petra Bendel, one of the authors of the report, visited several such centers and is convinced that there is no need to create new similar facilities. Bendel questions the extent to which human rights are observed in transit centers, where a significant number of people have to live in a small area for a long time. Another problematic issue is whether children living in such centers can attend regular schools.
Daniel Thym, a legal expert, notes that the topic of transit centers has recently sparked heated debates in the media. And this, in turn, has led to the Merkel government working intensively on the refugee issue and, apparently, doing everything right.