The German government has approved draft legislation to implement European Union asylum reforms, but the drawn-out process has exposed deep divisions in Berlin and raised questions over whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s cabinet is any closer to delivering a coherent migration strategy.
On Wednesday, September 3rd, the cabinet gave its backing to transpose the 2024 Common European Asylum System (CEAS) reforms into national law.
The EU package obliges member states to introduce identity checks at the EU’s external borders and fast-track asylum procedures for applicants from countries with low recognition rates, allowing member states to deport them directly from border facilities.
All EU states must adopt the measures by June 2026.
Germany had hoped to finalise the reforms last year, but the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrat-led left-wing coalition derailed the process, forcing Merz’s centre-right CDU party to relaunch it this year.
The delay has exposed bitter disputes within the current coalition—made up of the CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats.
The Interior Ministry, led by CSU’s Alexander Dobrindt, has pushed for tougher provisions, including the detention of migrants who breach residency requirements and restrictions on the movement of asylum seekers, while the SPD has resisted attempts to harden the legislation further.
Benefits for asylum seekers are to be reduced to a minimum under certain conditions, such as in cases of violence in accommodation centres, or failure to comply with reporting obligations.
The government only signed off after repeated postponements over these disagreements.
The draft bill must still be brought to a vote in the German parliament, and Social Democrat MPs are already signalling that they will take their time to examine the new law in detail.
Despite years of rhetoric about restoring order, asylum policy continues to be shaped by party infighting rather than strategic vision.
The legislation will probably do little to change realities on the ground. Countries lying on the EU’s external borders, such as Hungary, Greece, and Italy, have for years been calling for genuine actions to stop illegal migration: turning back migrants at the borders, making them apply for asylum outside the EU, and deporting migrants that have crossed into the EU illegally.
The government insists the reforms will strengthen border controls and improve efficiency, but the reality is that Berlin has been promising to ‘fix’ migration for years, while doing nothing.
Friedrich Merz had promised to stop illegal migrants from entering Germany at the borders, but his government has only resorted to stricter border controls.
