Germany closes doors: Interior minister says safe countries no basis for asylum

Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has firmly defended the country's new asylum restrictions, stating that the recent refusals of entry to asylum seekers are fully in line with German national law. His remarks follow mounting criticism over the Friedrich Merz government’s increasingly stringent migration policies.

Speaking to Germany’s ZDF broadcaster, Dobrindt explained that many applicants are turned away because they arrive from so-called "safe third countries" where they are not subject to persecution.

“People who seek asylum with us are refused because they come from a safe third country and are not persecuted there,” Dobrindt said, emphasising: “This is our national law. We apply it.”

The minister pointed to Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows member states to deviate from EU-wide rules in order to safeguard internal security and public order. The clause includes provisions related to the admission of migrants.

“This is an exception that can be utilised if you feel it is necessary to apply national law. That is what we are doing now,” Dobrindt explained.

When asked whether Germany is putting its own laws above those of the European Union, Dobrindt rejected the notion. “No, national law is applied simply because we consider it necessary in this situation,” he said.

The remarks come amid a sweeping shift in German migration policy under the new government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who secured a parliamentary majority in the Bundestag following two rounds of voting on May 6. One of the new government’s first moves was to announce an immediate halt to most new asylum admissions.

On May 7, Dobrindt told reporters that German police had been instructed to deny entry at the borders to undocumented migrants, with exceptions granted only to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and minors. The minister had earlier written in Bild newspaper that “the numbers of illegal migration must go down,” asserting that “for humanity and order to succeed equally, we need control, clarity, and consistency.”

The policy shift has drawn sharp criticism from refugee rights organizations, which have accused the new government of undermining human rights obligations and risking violations of international protection standards.

Additionally, the Interior Ministry is weighing a controversial new measure that would allow Syrian refugees in Germany to visit their home country temporarily without jeopardising their protection status. A proposal published on April 23 suggests that Syrian refugees could be granted permission to return home for either one four-week visit or two separate two-week visits. The goal, officials say, is to enable refugees to assess the conditions for a potential voluntary return in the future.

“To do this, people from Syria must be able to see for themselves – for example, whether their houses are still standing, whether their relatives are still alive and so on,” said a Ministry spokesperson. However, the proposed visits would be allowed only under “strict conditions” and only if they serve to “prepare for a permanent return.”

The proposal remains uncertain, as it has already faced resistance from the CSU—Dobrindt’s own party. Meanwhile, Germany has launched proceedings to revoke protection status for individuals who traveled back to countries from which they had claimed asylum. Over the past six months alone, 2,157 such cases have been opened, including 734 involving return trips to Syria.

By Tamilla Hasanova