Brussels, 29 January 2025 – With its proposals, the German Christian Democratic parliamentary group has broken the cordon sanitaire against far-right collaboration - and threatens the Schengen Agreements.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group has put to vote a resolution in the German Bundestag proposing a series of measures to turn away asylum seekers at the borders regardless of their protection needs, introducing permanent border controls. The proposals are just a smokescreen as they do not hold up to German and EU law. These proposals found a majority with the votes of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the European Green Party, said: "The CDU/CSU has scandalously broken the longstanding Brandmauer, the firewall against collaboration with far-right political parties. CDU/CSU knowingly relied on votes of the AfD for their proposals undermining the human dignity of migrants and refugees. The right to seek asylum is a fundamental human right that helps people fleeing war, violence and persecution. The CDU/CSU are following a dangerous path of unilateral decisions of member states, in times when Europe needs unity. The European People’s Party (EPP), of which CDU is a member, was already increasingly cooperating with the far-right parties, and now the CDU/CSU are doing the same.”
Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party, commented: "The CDU/CSU proposals are undermining the Schengen Agreement, one of the pillars of the European Union project. This is even more dangerous in a moment where the EU should stay united to counter Trump’s 'America First' with our 'Europe United'. Strong adherence to European laws and values is the only effective way to ensure that the European Union remains a strong force globally.”
Last weekend tens of thousands of people protested against the AfD. They will continue throughout the week. The European Green Party strongly supports these protests, for democracy, for Europe and against the far right, as we highlight the tireless work of our member party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen to protect freedom and democracy.
