“Welcome to the club!” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reacted mockingly on X after Germany announced the temporary reestablishment of controls at all its borders to combat illegal immigration. Ten days earlier, the Scholz government had sent back to their country 28 Afghans convicted by the courts – a first since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
For a long time, however, Germany was the champion of openness – it has welcomed more than 2 million refugees since the migration crisis of 2015-2016, and 1.2 million Ukrainians since the Russian invasion in 2022. The suddenness of this unilateral decision gives a feeling of feverishness within the German executive, under pressure after the assassination on its soil of three people by a Syrian asylum seeker and the spectacular scores recently achieved by the extreme right in the former East Germany.
With this 180-degree turn, the continent’s leading economy joins the increasingly large clan of European countries that are toughening their migration policies. From Denmark – “zero illegal refugees” – to Sweden – which is offering to pay migrants 30,000 euros to encourage them to return -, via Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary.
The German U-turn could have serious consequences. “There is a risk of contagion of border control measures and a complete questioning of freedom of movement in the Schengen area, if the European Commission does not play its role as guardian of compliance with existing rules.”, warns Jérôme Vignon, from the Jacques Delors Institute.
Taboos falling
In a sign that taboos are falling, the British Prime Minister, Labour’s Keir Starmer, visited his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, to draw inspiration from her “know-how” to reduce migrant arrivals by sea. The far-right leader has notably signed agreements with countries of departure, such as Tunisia and Libya. And with Albania, with a view to outsourcing asylum application procedures there. Notably, around fifteen European countries (not Germany or France) are demanding solutions of this type from Brussels.
At the same time, the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which will not come into force until 2026, is supposed to include a dose of solidarity between states in the reception of migrants. “The problem is that it will be difficult to implement, and includes too many possible exceptions,” says Matthieu Tardis, a specialist on the subject. Faced with the complexity of the political, legal, security and human issues, it is urgent to play collectively.