Would you have thought that the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) with its 18 million inhabitants takes in more refugees from the Ukraine than France with 65 million. For years, the CDU-led federal governments under Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to enforce a regulated distribution of refugees within Europe. This is an omission of historic proportions.
This deficit is at the expense of the refugees and the states that take in and care for them. Basically, we must therefore regulate the European distribution. The migration and integration policy in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Europe must be reorganized.
Align labor immigration more closely to our interests
But let’s start from the beginning: NRW has been a cosmopolitan and diverse immigration country for many decades. Generations of immigrants have made an important contribution to building and shaping our federal state. NRW will continue to depend on immigration in the future to ensure our prosperity. However, immigration must not be disorderly. We must align labor immigration more closely with our interests.
We need skilled workers in many sectors. Trade, gastronomy and health care will no longer be able to maintain their range of services without foreign workers. However, we must clearly distinguish labor immigration from humanitarian obligations. We accept those in need of protection and grant them asylum or other protection.
As a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the situation with regard to the reception of refugees has worsened even further in North Rhine-Westphalia. We know that Putin uses flight and migration as a means of pressure. The Russian army deliberately attacks civilian targets to expel people from Ukraine. The Kremlin’s calculations are clear. Putin is trying to divide our European societies so that right-wing, pro-Kremlin parties can come to power. We will never accept that! In 2022, NRW took in over 220,000 war refugees from Ukraine. This is an absolute requirement of humanity and European solidarity.
It is not the migration that causes us problems, but how it is organized!
In addition, the number of asylum seekers is also increasing. Migration movements on the Balkan and Mediterranean routes have increased again. Around 50,000 asylum seekers were registered in 2022, their main countries of origin being Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. The protection rate in North Rhine-Westphalia is 65 percent. The total numbers of people admitted in 2022 are not only above the values for 2015/2016. As a single federal state, NRW has also taken in more people than almost all EU member states and as many as France and the Netherlands combined. Only Poland and the Czech Republic have taken in more people overall due to their proximity to Ukraine.
A few years ago, Federal President Joachim Gauck put it very aptly: “Our hearts are wide, but our possibilities are finite. Our asylum and refugee rights are not measured by numbers, and yet we know our reception capacity is limited, even if we don’t know exactly where the limits are.”
From our point of view, this means that it is not migration that causes us problems, but how it is organized in Germany and Europe. This reduces approval and a sense of security within the population. Because often the state itself prevents people who come to us from contributing their part to society. On the other hand, he does not always consistently enforce existing law. However, the open society needs the enforcement of clear rules.
Successful duality: liberality and commitment
That’s why we have to pursue two goals: On the one hand, we are committed to a policy of liberality. We want to enable more legal immigration into the labor market. We stand firmly by the side of our cities and communities, which are currently mastering an extraordinary challenge. We will continue to promote and strengthen civic engagement. We enforce asylum law and refugee protection, together with our friends in Europe. On the other hand, we demand more commitment. Because not everyone who comes to us can stay. And for us, a Europe without internal borders presupposes a strong external border.
We need more immigration into the labor market and not into our social systems! That is why we want to enable legal immigration for workers and reduce irregular migration. At the same time, we have to reduce the complexity of our system. According to studies, less than 20 percent of the Ukraine refugees work in this country. In the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic it is sometimes over 60 percent. Too many administrative steps mean that our authorities are overloaded and the job placement process for Ukrainians is too slow. We can do better!
Municipalities under pressure: Optimizing the distribution of refugees
We need a new distribution mechanism. This must combine the absorption capacities of the municipalities and the needs of the refugees. One of the most urgent problems at the moment is the accommodation of newly arriving refugees. In many municipalities it is housing market tense. We must now activate all instruments to quickly create additional regular housing. The cities and municipalities need flexibility and support from their state government.
This, in turn, must create buffer and reserve capacity that relieves the local authorities in accommodating refugees. It needs better planning and more advance notice before distribution. The black-green NRW state government of Hendrik Wüst (CDU), despite constant lip service, does not manage to provide sufficient space in the state institutions. Around 30,000 places are currently on the plus side, 80,000 are needed.
Due to longer accommodation in the state institutions, priority should only be given to people with the prospect of staying in the municipalities. We must continue to consistently pursue the repatriation of persons who are obliged to leave the country and, in particular, of criminals and people who are dangerous. The central immigration authorities (ZAB) support local immigration authorities and coordinate returns. Budget funds must be increased for this. The investment is worth it.
Specify other safe countries of origin
Accelerated procedures are possible for asylum seekers from safe countries of origin: In addition to the Western Balkan countries, Ghana and Senegal, the Maghreb countries, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as well as Georgia are also to be classified as safe countries of origin. The Greens, in particular, who are blocking here, have to move here! Some people who do not actually need protection seek the route to Germany via the asylum system because there are no legal immigration routes or they are too complicated. Initiatives by the federal government to extend the Western Balkans regulation, to make it easier for the Blue Card and for non-academic professions and to introduce an opportunity card based on a point system point in the right direction.
We reduce irregular migration by entering into migration partnerships with countries of transit and origin. The states undertake to take in refugees who do not have the right to stay in Europe. We offer work visas and study grants to enable and support regular immigration.
Increase pressure on refuser states – cut EU funds?
Municipalities are central actors in the reception of refugees and make an enormous contribution to integration policy. Despite their experience, they are rarely heard where the big decisions on migration policy are made. The expertise of the municipalities must be bundled centrally in Brussels! As an area without internal borders, the EU needs strong external border protection. We are committed to developing Frontex into a real border protection agency and increasing its staff tenfold to 10,000 officers.
Anyone who wants open borders within Europe must regulate the reception and care of refugees at European level. If that doesn’t happen, Germany will have to increase its pressure on the refuser states. This also includes withholding EU funds. Incidentally, according to a representative survey, 79% of people in North Rhine-Westphalia would agree to this option. And 73% would even support EU border closures to achieve the distribution key. This shows very clearly: It is time to act! We must make up for the failures of the Merkel era in migration and integration policy as quickly as possible.
Editor’s note: The FDP parliamentary group has a total of eleven demands in a new one Position paper on migration and integration policy summarized.
