Germany to follow Austria and deport convicted Syrians
Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to journalistic standards.
Germany will begin deporting Syrians with criminal records, the interior ministry said on Saturday, following Austria's move earlier this week to become the first EU country in years to do so.
The ministry had instructed the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) to take action against "dangerous Syrian individuals and delinquents," a spokesman told AFP , confirming a report of German newspaper Die Welt .
The spokesman stressed that committing serious crimes meant one was excluded from the protection afforded by asylum and could lead to the revocation of any such status already granted.
An agreement reached by the coalition made up of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats provided for deportations to Afghanistan and Syria "starting with delinquents and people considered a threat," the spokesman added.
To that end, the ministry was in contact with the relevant Syrian authorities, he said.
Between January and May, the BAMF has opened more than 3,500 procedures that could lead to the revocation of asylum rights granted to Syrian nationals, the ministry said in an answer to a question in parliament.
Refugee status had been withdrawn in 57 cases and lower-level protection in 22 other cases, said the ministry.
During the same period, around 800 Syrians have returned home as part of a voluntary repatriation programme funded by Germany, to which 2,000 have so far signed up.
Around a million Syrians live in Germany, most of whom arrived during the major exodus between 2015 and 2016.
But since the December 2024 fall of President Bashar al-Assad, several European countries, including Austria and Germany, have suspended asylum procedures as far-right parties have campaigned on the issue.
Austria's interior ministry on Thursday deported a Syrian criminal convict back to Syria, saying it was the first EU country to do so officially "in recent years."
Germany has in recent months suffered several deadly attacks by jihadists using bladed weapons as well as far-right violence, which has pushed the issue of security up the political agenda.
(mm) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euractiv
2 hours ago
- Euractiv
Commission looks to expand ‘cash-for-reform' scheme on rule of law issues
The EU's justice chief stressed the need to tie EU funds to resilient and independent national judicial systems, as the European Commission presented its annual assessment of the rule of law across member states on Tuesday. With judicial independence weakening and civic space shrinking in parts of the bloc, the European Commission is exploring ways to expand existing mechanisms that condition access to EU funds on rule of law reforms, according to its newly released Rule of Law Report. Presenting this year's report, EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said the EU's next long-term budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), should be used as a tool to help protect judicial independence across the bloc. 'What's important (…) is that we have appropriate rule of law conditionality safeguards built into the MFF architecture, along with a clear link to the recommendations in the Rule of Law Report,' McGrath told Euractiv in a closed-door interview with journalists on Tuesday. The Commission is due to present its proposal for the next MFF on 16 July. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously indicated that the EU budget starting in 2028 would require member states to reform in order to access EU funding. In connection with the new report, a senior EU official acknowledged that 'cash-for-reform" scheme had proven 'extremely helpful' in advancing rule of law objectives. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), launched after the COVID-19 crisis, marked the EU's first large-scale use of conditional funding, tying disbursement of grants and loans to concrete national reforms on rule of law. Usual suspects Now in its sixth year, the Rule of Law Report provides an annual snapshot of justice systems, anti-corruption frameworks, and media landscapes. It includes tailored recommendations aimed at addressing democratic backsliding. The 2025 edition, spanning more than 800 pages and published on Tuesday, acknowledges some progress but warns that member states must do more to protect civil society, media freedom and judicial independence. The report find that EU countries have made progress, albeit slower than in the previous year. The 2024 report found that member states had made positive progress on 68% of 2023's recommendations, while only 57% of last year's recommendations had been fully or somewhat implemented this year. McGrath attributed the slowdown to the efficacy of the Rule of Law Report. 'The low-hanging fruit has been picked at this stage,' he said. The report delivered particularly critical assessments for Hungary, Poland, Italy, and candidate country Albania. In Hungary, the Commission noted that aside from modest pay increases for judicial staff, 'no progress' had been made in all other areas. Italy drew criticism for relaxed rules on political campaign financing. Similarly, last year's report gave low marks to Hungary, Slovakia, and Italy. On Tuesday, McGrath declined to speculate on whether more countries could face frozen funds due to rule of law violations in the future. 'Our goal is not to increase the number of member states that are subject to conditionality,' he said. The aim is to achieve 'the highest standards possible throughout the European Union in relation to the rule of law'. (de)
Euractiv
4 hours ago
- Euractiv
The Brief – The real story behind Europe's high energy bills
Critics who say expensive natural gas is the driving force behind Europe's high power bills have got it right – but miss the forest for the trees. Gas-fired power plants have a tight grip on Europe. Despite providing just 14% of electricity last year, they set the power price 40% of the time – making gas the decisive factor in calculating monthly energy bills. Lest we forget, our energy bills are around three times more expensive than in the US or China. However, don't let the very necessary fight against King Gas consume all the oxygen in the room. A power bill is usually split into three components: fuel (gas), grid costs and levies. Whilst the price of the fuel itself depends on international markets, there are still plenty of means by which Europe could bring consumer costs down. This is highlighted by the discrepancies in electricity bills across Europe. Take Austria, where the EU's 2000s market liberalisation simply failed and there is still 'no functioning national competitive market,' as the head of competition authority BWB has admitted. Instead, all the energy firms simply own shares in each other and local governments happily partake in the bonanza. Other issues affect all of Europe, like Paris blocking Spain from constructing cross-border cables to connect the sun-rich Iberian Peninsula to the European mainland – fearful of undermining the business case for nuclear (an industry French politicians back to the hilt). Even worse is Germany's infamous unitary electricity price zone – by which German politicians insist that electricity should cost the same in its wind-rich north and gas-reliant south, even though the cables to connect the two halves of the country do not exist. This has major ramifications for prices elsewhere in the bloc, the biggest loser being Denmark, where power prices are much higher because of competition from Bavaria. Similarly, the for-profit firms that manage electricity grids are usually the same companies that own the cables – allowing them a stranglehold on bill-payers. Whenever there is a bottleneck in the grid, companies usually just lay down more (expensive) copper cables, instead of opting for cheaper 'non-wire solutions', because at the end of the day, it's consumers who foot the bill. Meanwhile, a lack of regulatory oversight allows low-voltage grid operators (the ones who deliver power to households) to make a killing. A recent investigation in Germany found local monopolies earning up to 50% return on their investment in 2023 (ten times more than would be appropriate). A full account of the many factors inflating Europe's energy bills could fill a book. But the villain of the story wouldn't be gas itself, rather the pretence that gas is singularly responsible for our crippling energy bills. Much as they would have us believe otherwise, governments played a major role in getting Europe hooked on gas. Not only did they mismanage energy transitions (look no further than Germany's hopeless attempt to ditch coal and nuclear at the same time ), but they profit from our pain with high rates of VAT. Europe can't fix its gas woes overnight, but there are other levers it should pull. The Roundup De-risking, not de-coupling – Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the EU must accelerate efforts to 'de-risk' from China, warning that Beijing's control over critical supply chains like rare earth minerals, alongside support for Russia, pose a growing threat to Europe's economy and security. € in Bulgaria – EU finance ministers gave the final green light on Tuesday for Bulgaria to adopt the euro on the first day of January 2026, nearly 19 years after the country joined the European Union. Parliamentary probe – The European Public Prosecutor's Office has launched a formal investigation into allegations of misusing over €4.3 million of EU funds by Identity and Democracy, a defunct far-right group in the European Parliament that included France's Rassemblement National, a spokesperson for EPPO said on Tuesday. Across Europe Embargoing nowhere – Spain's promise for an arms embargo on Israel faces continued hurdles, as the country continues to import weapons and utilise Israeli military technology in domestic production, and political divisions over the matter deepen. Anonymous immunisation – Public vaccination registration in the Netherlands is being impacted by a rise in anonymous data reporting and a decline in vaccination rates in specific demographics, according to the Dutch Public Health Institute, making it difficult for the organisation to provide exact vaccination rates. A migration loss for Merz – A German court ruled Tuesday that the government must issue visas to an Afghan family previously accepted under a programme for those at risk after the Taliban seized power in 2021, which was frozen by Merz's new government.
Euractiv
4 hours ago
- Euractiv
Trump says ‘very nice' EU will ‘probably' receive new tariff rates on Thursday
The EU will 'probably' receive a letter setting its new US tariff rate on Thursday, Donald Trump said on Tuesday, as the US president said the bloc had shifted from being 'very tough' to 'very nice'. The comments come amid growing efforts by the EU to avoid sweeping 'reciprocal tariffs' on its US exports, which had previously been set to enter into force on Wednesday, but have since been pushed back to 1 August. They also come as Trump has this week begun to release letters setting new tariff rates for US trading partners, which have so far largely matched the duties announced – but then quickly suspended – on 'Liberation Day' in early April. 'They [the EU] are very tough but now they're being very nice to us,' Trump told reporters, adding that the bloc had been 'among the toughest' trade negotiators and was 'in many respects a lot worse than China'. 'We'll see what happens. We're probably two days off from sending them a letter. We are talking to them. I just want you to know a letter means a deal,' he said. Trump has already imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium , 25% duties on cars and car parts , and a 10% levy on most other goods since his return to the White House in January. He has also repeatedly threatened to impose other sector-specific levies. On Tuesday, he said tariffs on pharmaceutical products will be introduced 'very soon' and that a new 50% levy on copper would be announced later that day. The duties currently affect €370 billion worth of EU goods, or 70% of the bloc's total exports to the US, according to EU officials. Trump also repeated his criticisms of Brussels' decisions to fine US tech firms, including Google and Apple, which he said had taken 'so much money away our country'. "A bit more time", EU says The European Commission, which oversees the bloc's trade policy, has signalled it is willing to accept Trump's 10% blanket levy in exchange for exemptions on Trump's metal and car duties. But Brussels has threatened to retaliate against US exports valued at up to €116 billion, spread across two separate packages, if no 'mutually acceptable' deal is agreed. The UK and Vietnam are the only two countries that have clinched a trade deal with the US since Trump announced his punishing reciprocal tariffs in April, which upended global trade and financial markets before being suspended one week later. Both agreements – which fall well short of traditional trade deals – left steep tariffs in place and were staunchly criticised by China, which argues that Washington is seeking to cut Beijing out of global value chains. On Tuesday, Trump also wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that 'all money [from the tariffs] will be due and payable' from 1 August and that 'no extensions will be granted'. Trump signed an executive order on Monday formally extending the tariff deadline from Wednesday to 1 August. "It seems the US has now postponed in a sense this deadline to 1 August, so that gives us a bit more time," EU Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday. (om)
