Germany updates: Merz govt to reject more asylum-seekers

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany would ensure its tougher migration policies would be "carried out in a way that will not cause problems for our neighbors."

The new chancellor made the remark at a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Tusk warned Merz against unilateral migration policies such as national border controls or deportations, which could leave migrants stranded on Polish territory.

Merz stressed irregular migration should be tackled Europe-wide.

"If we, everybody together in the European Union, give the signal to those who are setting out for Europe without valid opportunities for entry, if we give this signal especially to the traffickers, that these routes are going to get a lot more difficult and that we are going to close them, then that is a joint and good signal," Merz said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hailed a "new opening" in German-Polish relations as he welcomed Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Warsaw on Wednesday evening, saying the boost was "perhaps the most important in the history of German-Polish relations in more than 10 years."

However, Tusk warned the new chancellor against unilateral migration policies such as national border controls or deportations, which could leave migrants stranded on Polish territory.

"There can be no impression that anyone, including Germany, would like to send any groups of migrants to Poland," he told a news conference. "Poland will not accept this."

Germany announced recently that it would reject undocumented migrants, including asylum-seekers, at the country's borders (see entry below), but Tusk said the problem should be dealt with at the European Union's outer border and called for German support.

"We must help each other to protect EU territory against illegal migration," he said. "I will expect the new German government to cooperate fully with us on securing the EU's external borders."

Internally, he said it was in the interests of both Poland and Germany to maintain the EU's free-movement Schengen Zone, adding that it would be "the worst thing if all EU countries started introducing controls on their borders."

Germany will turn some asylum-seekers away at its borders, new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.

He added that exceptions would be made for "vulnerable groups," including pregnant women and children.

Freshly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz argued during the election campaign that, since Germany is surrounded by European Union member states and Switzerland, any potential asylum applicants should present their case before they reach Germany.

He said that according to EU agreements asylum-seekers must apply for protection in the first EU country they enter.

Like most EU countries, Germany is part of the visa-free Schengen area where internal borders are open for EU citizens and many non-EU nationals to travel freely without passport checks.

But the new German government plans to deploy more police on the country's borders as part of its migration policy. (See earlier post)

"We are not going to close the borders, but we are going to control the borders more strictly and this stronger control of the borders will also lead to a higher number of rejections," the interior minister said. 

"We will gradually increase this higher number of rejections and the stronger controls at the borders," he added. "We will ensure that, step by step, more police forces are deployed at the borders and can also carry out these push-backs," Dobrindt added. 

The foreign ministers of European countries meeting in Warsaw, Poland, this week have been offering their opinions on Friedrich Merz's new government.

"We're looking forward to working together with the new German government," said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen spoke of "high expectations" and said she was pleased that Germany "had a government capable of acting."

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Marian said he expected Germany to take the lead on the EU's support for Ukraine and hoped for a harder line against Russian aggression.

Austria's Beate Meinl-Reisinger said she was looking forward to meeting the new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who was traveling to Warsaw with Merz on Wednesday afternoon before taking part in the second day of talks on Thursday.

The German Foreign Ministry said Wadephul was committed to furthering "a tight partnership with France and Poland for a united Europe, capable of acting."

On Friday, the European foreign ministers are set to travel onwards to Lviv in western Ukraine where they will meet their Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiha.

US Vice President JD Vance has extended Washington's congratulations to Friedrich Merz on his election as Germany's new chancellor.

"I know that we'll have a conversation with him in the next couple of days," Vance said at an event in Washington.

Earlier, while en route to Paris, Merz had said he currently has no concrete plans for a trip to the United States, but added that he hoped to have details on a trip organized soon. He is due to speak to US President Trump on Thursday.

In the meantime, he said he would be discussing German policy towards the United States with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying the pair would "try to coordinate how to approach [the US] together."

In February, Vance had caused consternation at the Munich Security Conference in Germany when he declared that "free speech" was "in retreat" across Europe.

On Wednesday, Vance elaborated that his comments were not meant to imply "Europe bad, America good," but that both Europe and the United States under [former President] Biden had gone "a bit off track" when it came to protecting what he considers "free speech."

"I do still very much think the US and Europe are on the same team," he said. "I still think that this European alliance is very important, but I think that for it to be important and for us to be real friends with each other, we've got to talk about the big questions."

"European culture and American culture are very much linked and they're always going to be linked," he continued. "I think it's completely ridiculous to think that you're ever going to be able to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe."

Germany's new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt ordered the deployment of more police officers to all the country's borders, after having vowed to to curb irregular migration.

Dobrindt, of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), is set for a meeting with national police chief Dieter Romann and president of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Hans-Eckhard Sommer, later on Wednesday, the German news agency DPA reported without citing the names of its sources.

Andreas Rosskoft, chairman of the German Police Union (GdP), told the Rheinische Post newspaper that police have begun increasing the number of officers deployed to all the country's land frontiers, following verbal instructions.

Like most EU countries, Germany is part of the visa-free Schengen area where internal borders are open for EU citizens and many non-EU nationals so they can travel freely without passport checks.

Berlin first introduced temporary border checks on its southern border with Austria in 2015, amid an influx of migrant arrivals, mainly from Syria.

EU regulations generally require temporary measures to be time-limited and that's why Germany's border controls are extended every few months.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a strong showing of unity with Ukraine announced that he will visit the country soon.

Merz said during his first official trip to Paris that he wants to work toward arrangements to ensure a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.

The latest news on the war in Ukraine here.

The war in Ukraine cannot end without the involvement of the US, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday, warning that European countries were not in a position to replace Washington.

"We cannot end this war in Ukraine without a continued involvement of the United States of America, this is not something that Europeans can substitute for," he said at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Merz added that any future ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine would also require US engagement.

Russia announced a three-day ceasefire over May 8-10 and said all "military action" would be suspended during the time. 

"Beyond the three days promised, which will undoubtedly not be respected, like the previous ones, is the Russian president finally serious?" Macron asked reporters.

"Will he finally decide to keep his word, especially the promises he made in his discussions with the US administration? That is what matters to us."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said all members of the European Union must boost their defense spending, in a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

"Only in this way can we gradually close our capability gaps and collectively support Ukraine," Merz said.

Merz also said he planned a trip to Ukraine soon.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris and Berlin will "put in place a Franco-German Defense and Security Council," as he welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday.

"We will set up a French-German defence and security council to meet regularly to bring operational responses to our common strategic challenges," Macron said at a joint press conference.

The French president stressed that the two European nations will continue to invest in defense.

"France and Germany, with their partners, will continue to work on a ceasefire in Ukraine," Macron added.

Adding to that, Merz said: "We are ready to help oversee a ceasefire."

Merz emphasized that all members of the European Union will need to increase its defense spending.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Paris on Wednesday, on his first foreign trip.

Merz met French President Emmanuel Macron, who warmly greeted him at the Elysee presidential palace.

Stephan Steinlein, Germany's ambassador to France, welcomed Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, saying the visit underlines "the great importance of bilateral relations for Europe."

We know that Chancellor Friedrich Merz was talking about crafting a unified response to US policies among other things with reporters aboard his plane to Paris on his first trip as German chancellor because Michaela Kufner, DW's chief political editor, is traveling with him.

Germany's new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul emphasized the importance of Chancellor Merz's first visits to France and Poland, saying it was important to "get the Franco-German axis back on track."

Before travelling to Paris and Warsaw, Wadephul said both he and Merz shared the same wish of seeing European unity.

He also said Russia's "war of aggression" in Ukraine is Europe's significant problem in the east. 

Wadephul stressed the importance of the Weimar Triangle, the 1991 German, French, Polish alliance created to promote cooperation between the three countries for cross-border and European issues.

Germany should lead efforts toward a "core Europe" bloc in a manner that would facilitate a "common, credible foreign policy," said Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the US and chairman of the Munich Security Conference from 2008 to 2022.

"The idea of a core Europe involves Germany, our classic partners in the Weimar Triangle — France and Poland — and other interested EU members, agree[ing] to accept majority decisions, rather than allowing every European a veto," Ischinger told DW.

"And if we can't speak with one voice at 27, maybe we can speak with one voice at six, or seven, or eight — and demonstrate [that] this core group [is] much stronger than a larger [EU] group that doesn't agree on anything."

Ischinger downplayed fears that the Trump administration was moving Washington away from the transatlantic partnership.

"I think we're panicking a little too easily [when] discussing the transatlantic relationship. Not one American soldier has been withdrawn from Europe — or more specifically, from Germany. All the nuclear weapons which the United States has deployed in Germany and elsewhere in Europe … are still there. [In terms of] hardware, NATO is alive and kicking," he said.