Germany has temporarily suspended its participation in the refugee resettlement program managed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handelsblatt reports.
Germany’s Interior Ministry and the UNHCR confirmed that, amid ongoing coalition talks between the CDU, CSU, and SPD, the country will not take on any new commitments under the resettlement scheme. According to dpa, exceptions will be made only for cases where the resettlement process is already well advanced.
In their previous coalition agreement, the governing parties had decided to significantly scale back voluntary federal intake programs and refrain from launching any new ones.
Germany had earlier pledged to provide 13,100 resettlement spots for 2024–2025 to the UNHCR and the European Commission, which funds the initiative. So far, 5,061 individuals have arrived in the country, including Syrian refugees from Turkey, as part of the 2016 EU–Turkey agreement.
As part of the process, the UNHCR recommends individuals in particularly vulnerable situations, after which German officials conduct interviews and security screenings. Additional humanitarian admission programs also exist in Germany.
It is noted that, for the first time in years, Germany has lost its position as the top EU destination for asylum seekers. Migration policy has become a central issue in the election campaign, and the current coalition negotiations are accompanied by a shift toward stricter migration control.
