Germany pauses UN refugee program as political talks heat up

Germany has temporarily paused its voluntary refugee intake under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) program.

As reported by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), citing sources from the German Ministry of the Interior and the UN, the move comes amid ongoing coalition negotiations between Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

After preliminary talks, the parties agreed to wrap up existing voluntary refugee programs and avoid taking on any new intakes for the time being.

In 2024-2025, Germany had initially agreed to accept 13,100 refugees under the UN’s initiative. So far, 5,061 have arrived, including Syrian refugees from Türkiye.

Friedrich Merz, the likely future Chancellor of Germany, has long expressed his intention to significantly toughen the country's immigration policies if he takes office.

By Tamilla Hasanova