Germany should not outsource asylum procedures, experts warn

3 months ago 12

As the German government considers whether to process asylum applications abroad, experts involved in the process published their recommendations to the government on Thursday, calling into question whether the plan would go ahead.

Several European countries, including Germany, have been considering moving asylum procedures abroad to reduce the numbers of irregular migrants reaching their territory, following the example of Britain’s Rwanda model and Italy’s deal with Albania.

The federal government will present the results of its preliminary review at a meeting with Germany’s regional governments next week (20 June), which is expected to reach a conclusion in time for Germany to implement a similar process.

But SVR Migration, the government’s main migration advisory body, which has been consulted on the process, said on Thursday it had “considerable concerns” about what it sees as major human rights hurdles.

“The proposals to date for the externalisation of asylum procedures raise considerable political, legal and operational questions,” Hans Vorländer, the chair of the advisory council, wrote in a report, which was submitted to the government in March.

The high human rights and asylum standards required for such procedures would virtually rule out the possibility of non-EU countries being willing and able to provide the necessary conditions, he added.

If Germany proceeded alone, it “would raise the danger of a fragmentation, if not renationalisation, of Europe’s asylum system,” Vorländer added.

A European alternative to the Rwanda model?

The Council’s assessment is in line with the opinions of other legal experts involved that have been made public so far.

The EU’s requirement that applicants be sent to a country to which they have a personal connection rules out most models, Daniel Thym, a legal scholar, told Die Zeit ahead of the expert hearing. In particular, this would rule out the “Rwanda model”, according to which applicants are forced to stay abroad if they are granted asylum, he added.

A strongly negative legal assessment in the government’s review could pose significant obstacles to future externalisation.

However, they might ultimately still be overridden by growing political pressure on the government to clamp down on migration.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has already indicated that she is ‘very interested’ in the Italy-Albania deal, which exploits a loophole by only sending migrants abroad who have not yet reached Italian territory. Furthermore, the centres for processing migrants would be considered ‘Italian soil’ staffed by Italian authorities, and after the process is complete, the individuals would either be sent to Italy, or another third country, depending on the outcome.

Some EU states have also pushed for the joint externalisation of procedures between the EU and national governments, which Vorländer did not rule out as an option, while Germany’s interior ministry has been more hesitant.

(Nick Alipour | Euractiv.de)