In addition, the Afghanistan admission programme is to be reinstated and expanded to include the Gaza Strip, and 20,000 people in Berlin who are legally obliged to leave the country are to be granted permanent permission to stay. Collective accommodation centres are to be replaced by a housing construction programme for refugees.
Anja Arndt, Member of the European Parliament for the ESN Group, comments:
“The term ‘climate refugee’ is not defined under international law. Blanket admission commitments on this scale would structurally overwhelm the state and local authorities. Already today, housing, public budgets and integration systems are under severe strain. Further programmes without viable concepts for funding, integration and return are irresponsible.
The ESN stands for a migration policy based on the rule of law: a clear distinction between asylum and migration, consistent return of those with an obligation to leave, no additional admission programmes, and help on the ground instead of permanent resettlement. Europe cannot solve global challenges through immigration.”
