HomeINTERNATIONAL NEWSGermany's Baerbock urges fellow Greens to compromise on asylum policy

Germany’s Baerbock urges fellow Greens to compromise on asylum policy

Germany’s Baerbock urges fellow Greens to compromise on asylum policy

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged her fellow Green Party members to be open to compromise and take a pragmatic approach on asylum policy in a speech at a party gathering in Germany.

Germany’s Green Party has traditionally taken a strong humanitarian position on migration and asylum issues, and favoured a welcoming policy.

But migration has become a major political issue for Germany’s coalition government, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats vowing to take a tougher line as the number of migrants arriving has surged.

“There is no humanity without order,” Baerbock said on Saturday in the western city of Karlsruhe.

Baerbock said that the Greens have taken on responsibility as part of Germany’s governing coalition, and that includes negotiating over a possible agreement on asylum policy.

“We must not shirk this responsibility,” Baerbock said.

Baerbock came under heavy criticism within her own party last summer for agreeing to plans to reform the European Union’s asylum policy. A number of stricter policy measures are planned to limit unwanted migration.

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In particular, the EU plans to streamline asylum applications of migrants from countries that are considered relatively safe, and allowing faster deportations to those countries.

Ricarda Lang, who was re-elected co-chair of the party on Friday, had made a similar point to Baerbock.

“The greatest enemy of compromise is the populist,” Lang said. “Standing up against right-wing extremists is a democratic duty.”

Source: dpa

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