Former German Health Minister Jens Spahn has suggested that the European Union use physical force to halt illegal migration on the bloc’s external borders as the European Union sees migrant arrivals at levels not seen since the 2015-2016 migration crisis.
Spahn, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Health Minister under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, stated this week that illegal immigration should be stopped “with physical force” if needed, the magazine Der Spiegel reports.
“The decisive key is not repatriation, but the limitation of irregular migration,” Spahn said. His comments were largely in reaction to remarks made by Chancellor Olof Scholz, who stated last weekend that illegal immigrants with no right to stay in Germany should be deported on a large scale.
Spahn also expressed his own view that the European Union would close the external border at some point, saying, “The border will be closed sooner or later. Whether in five or 15 years, I can’t tell you. But it’s going to happen.”
The comments from Spahn were criticised by members of the Green Party and the libertarian Free Democrats (FDP), both of which, along with the Social Democrats, make up the ruling federal governing coalition.
Parliamentary secretary of the Greens Irene Mihalic claimed that Spahn’s comments were an attempt to “fish on the right-wing fringe” and added, “Fortunately, we are in a state governed by the rule of law and need legally viable solutions to deal with the large number of people seeking protection—and not populism that violates human rights.”
Stephan Thomae of the FDP added that human rights must be respected, saying, “Violence against refugees is never acceptable.”
Spahn does have some support among the German establishment media, however, with the deputy head of the opinion department of the newspaper Die Welt writing an op-ed in support of Spahn.
He wrote:
The whole of Europe is looking for solutions to stop illegal migration, which remains high. Not out of cold-heartedness. Some EU countries have pushed themselves to the limit. In the meantime, however, even the last one must recognize that this migration is destabilizing many countries. It leads to fierce struggles over distribution and enlarges the milieu of an intolerant Islam that threatens Europe’s liberal societies. That is why the power of the state must set limits.
The comments from Spahn are not the first time a German politician has suggested using force to ensure border security and prevent illegal immigration.
In 2016, the former leader of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) Frauke Petry made similar comments as the 2015-2016 migrant crisis unfolded saying that police should be able to use force, including using firearms as a last resort, to prevent illegals from crossing the border.
Unlike Spahn, Petry had no allies supporting her comments in the German mainstream media or from other political parties, with a Social Democrat politician comparing her statement to former East Germany shooting people trying to cross the Berlin wall.
No longer led by Petry, the AfD has remained staunch anti-mass migration and is now polling consistently over 20%, only behind the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
Germany is now facing numbers of illegal arrivals not seen since the migration crisis ended in 2016, with over 92,000 people entering the country illegally this year. In September alone, over 21,000 migrants came to Germany, the highest monthly figure since February of 2016.
Comments similar to Spahn’s were seen last year in the lead-up to the Italian elections by now-Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who floated a variety of radical proposals to halt illegal immigration, including setting up a naval blockade in the Mediterranean Sea.
Now a year into her premiership, not only has a naval blockade not materialised in any shape or form, though Meloni floated the idea again last month, but illegal immigration across the Mediterranean Sea has roughly doubled during her first year in office to levels not seen since 2016.
