Mary Khan, AfD Member of the European Parliament and ESN Group shadow rapporteur for this report, stated:
“Today is a historic day for the AfD and a turning point in European migration policy. The previous policy of open borders has failed. This vote makes it clear: there is now a right-wing majority for a genuine migration policy shift in Europe. It is also a warning signal to the CDU, including in Baden-Württemberg: election promises can be kept through cooperation with the AfD.”
The background to this decision is the obvious failure of the current system. So far, only around 20 percent of illegal migrants who are required to leave Europe actually do so. The report adopted today will make returns faster, more effective, and more enforceable for the member states.
The key tightening measures in the regulation are based on amendments tabled by AfD shadow rapporteur Mary Khan. These include lifetime entry bans for individuals who pose a threat to public security, trade sanctions against third countries that refuse to take back their own citizens, and expanded detention options to enforce returns. The report also provides for medical age assessments to prevent abuse by migrants falsely claiming to be minors, as well as additional powers to search electronic devices in order to determine identity and origin.
In addition, the compromise grants the member states significantly more room for manoeuvre. In future, they will be able to determine in national law the conditions under which a security risk exists, when detention may be ordered, and which additional measures are necessary to secure returns.
Today’s vote is also of fundamental political significance. For the first time, a viable majority has emerged in the European Parliament on a key migration dossier beyond the left-wing and liberal forces. The firewall has now fallen in migration policy as well.
With the adoption of the compromise in the Committee on Civil Liberties, the next phase of the procedure now begins. In the upcoming negotiations with the Council and the Commission, the aim will be to defend and further strengthen the tightening measures that have been adopted. From the AfD’s point of view, one thing is clear: today’s vote was not the end point, but the beginning of a long-overdue migration policy shift in Europe.
