CDU: Tougher migration policy from day one

Berlin. Following the likely future Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), his party colleague and confidant Thorsten Frei has also announced a stricter migration policy starting on the first day of the new government. "Anyone attempting to enter Germany illegally must expect that from May 6 onwards, they will be denied entry at the German border," the designated Chancellor's Office Minister told the Funke Media Group newspapers.

No one can apply for asylum in the country of their choice. According to European law, the asylum application must be filed where someone first enters the European Union. This is almost never Germany. According to Frei, the new government will also "expand and intensify identity checks at the German borders from day one."

CDU leader Merz is set to be elected Chancellor on May 6. At a small CDU party conference on Monday, Merz declared that, starting from day one of a new government, national border controls would be even tighter and deportations would be carried out on a larger scale. The EU would support a much more restrictive course.

According to Frei, the increase in rejections is intended to create conditions to effectively limit illegal migration. Germany is already coordinating with its neighbors France, Austria, and Poland on this matter and is receiving "a great deal of support" for the planned change of course.

RND/dpa