The discussion on the difficult budget cuts for 2025 began in explosive tones on Wednesday morning and from the first minutes it was overshadowed by immigration. The German government is unveiling its new immigration and internal security package tomorrow, with the much-hyped deal with the main opposition a thing of the past after the head of the Christian Democrats Friedrich Mertz he did not attend a relevant meeting yesterday, considering the proposed measures of the Soltz government insufficient.

“Immigration is not solved simply with a synopsis in Sunday’s Bild,” said Chancellor Soltz, taking a direct shot at Mertz from the floor of the parliament. Nevertheless, he said he remains open to dialogue with the opposition and supports the government’s decisions.

OR Germanyas he said, needs immigrants, will remain an open society and continue to offer protection to those who are persecuted but “whoever wants can’t just come to Germany. We should be able to choose who comes.” However, from the side of the Christian Union, Friedrich Mertz did not appear on the floor of the parliament, but Alexander Dobrid from the group of Bavarian Christian Socialist MPs.

The new immigration package, despite the objections of the opposition which does not consider it strict, in any case signals a shift in the German attitude with wider consequences for first host countries such as Greece.

What are the government’s plans?

The German interior minister’s plans under Nancy Feser of the Social Democrats include border controls, more rejections of asylum applications but also rapid returns to the countries of first entry into the EU or deportations to third countries. Control procedures will be quickly carried out at the border by the police, which will acquire enhanced powers. That is, it will be examined which country is competent, based on the Dublin Regulation, to handle each asylum case, while the creation of detention centers on the German border will also be examined.

The criticality of the situation is also reflected by the announcement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Fezer to extend the temporary border controls to all land borders of the country from September 16 and for six months. In addition to Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, where controls were already in place, these are now being extended to the borders with France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark. Similar controls were imposed during the European Football Championship held in Germany

The main reasons are twofold: curbing irregular immigration and dealing with the Islamist threat following the terrorist attack in Sollingen, with Islamic State claiming responsibility.

In the background, of course, German media see the polling decline of the three coalition parties, the recent disastrous results in the local elections in Thuringia and Saxony with the triumph of the far-right AfD, and the next federal elections in a year. According to a recent poll, 77% of respondents want a change in German immigration and asylum policy.

Commission briefing, first reactions

However, the Commission has already been informed about the imposition of temporary controls on the entire German border because it is essentially a suspension of the Schengen rules due to extraordinary circumstances. The Commission, for its part, recalls that corresponding measures must be truly extraordinary, temporary and respect the principle of proportionality.

However, there are already strong reactions from neighbors. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks of Germany’s “unacceptable” plans, saying that the Schengen area is practically suspended. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner sternly announced that Austria would not accept asylum seekers back from Germany, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban quipped: “Germany, welcome to the club!”