Scholz calls for cross-party cooperation on German migration policy

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on the conservative opposition and the 16 federal states to cooperate with his government on migration policy.
This is "an issue where the state must show that it also has things under control," the centre-left Social Democrat (SPD) politician said on Wednesday evening at an economic conference of his parliamentary group in the lower house, or Bundestag.
"It is important that we work together on this issue," the chancellor said. For this reason, he said, he had invited two representatives for the group that brings together the 16 state premiers as well as the "leader of the opposition," Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz, to a meeting on Friday evening.
Merz, who heads the bloc formed of his party and its sister party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU), accepted the invitation for the Friday evening meeting, a party spokesman confirmed to dpa.
The meeting will be held in the framework of Scholz's recently proposed "pact" between all levels of government to reduce bureaucracy, modernize the country and regain economic momentum, according to the invitation.
The federal government has put together a "repatriation package" to make the deportation of irregular migrants easier and more effective, Scholz said. This also includes a regulation that allows 28 days of detention in the run-up to a deportation, if that is necessary.
Scholz stressed that there was too much irregular migration to Europe and to Germany. At the same time, however, the country urgently needs an increase in skilled workers, or regular migration.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser put forward proposals to make it easier to deport offenders from Germany.
The main objective of her draft bill - which is to be discussed by the Cabinet shortly - is to reduce the number of deportations that fail at the last moment, her ministry said on Wednesday.
In addition, the authorities who deal with immigrants are to be relieved by extended deadlines.
The need for action in migration and asylum policy has been pointed out for months by the states and municipalities, which have to deal with the accommodation of a growing number of people seeking to stay in Germany.
Further consultations within the federal government are under way while the 16 states and associations comment on the draft, the ministry said.
According to the German Interior Ministry, the maximum duration of detention pending departure is to be extended from 10 to 28 days. This will give the authorities more time to prepare a deportation.
In addition, the deportation of smugglers and criminals who have been sentenced to at least one year in prison is to be facilitated. In the case of members of criminal organizations, sufficient facts proving membership are to be enough, irrespective of an individual criminal court conviction.
If a person who is obliged to leave the country is in custody, he or she would no longer have to be notified of his or her deportation.
It is also to be made possible to search flats for data storage devices and documents in order to clarify the identity of a foreigner beyond doubt.
The Christian Democrats came out as winners in state elections in Bavaria and Hesse at the weekend, while the parties of Scholz's government coalition - the SPD, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FPD) - saw historic losses.
Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), known for its hard-line anti-immigration stance, made significant gains, becoming the number two party in both states.
The tone in the asylum debate in Germany has been getting sharper for weeks. The states see themselves at the breaking point and criticize the federal government for unresolved issues, demanding that immigration be managed and controlled.
Asylum applications have been on the rise in Europe as a whole, with Germany seeing a 74% increase in the number of applications compared to the same period last year, according to the EU Asylum Agency EUAA.
The topic of migration is also expected to play a role at a meeting of state-level leaders on Thursday.