"The coalition government of center-right Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and center-left Social Democrats (SPD), which has been in office since May 2025, is aiming to significantly increase the number of people who have been ordered to leave the country in the campaign they are calling a "repatriation offensive." However, the political and media debate has tended to focus on a different word: deportations."
"The dispute over deportations to Syria, a country devastated by a long civil war, shows just how difficult this undertaking is and just how divergent opinions are, even among the two conservative Christian parties. Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) recently visited the country and subsequently expressed caution: "Only possible to a very limited extent at this point in time," was his assessment of the possibility of forced deportations."
"Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken out, contradicting his foreign minister: "The civil war in Syria is over. There are now no longer any grounds for asylum in Germany, which means we can also begin repatriations," Merz said on Monday in a press conference. Adding "Those who then refuse to return to the country can, of course, be deported in the future." The interior minister is negotiating with Syrian authorities"
The coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD, in office since May 2025, intends to raise the number of people ordered to leave under a declared "repatriation offensive." Public and political debate focuses on the term "deportations." Disagreement over returns to Syria exposes practical difficulties and divergent positions even within conservative parties. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned that forced deportations to Syria are only possible to a very limited extent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz asserted the civil war is over and repatriations can begin, while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt seeks to press ahead and is negotiating with Syrian authorities. Legal, constitutional, European and international rules complicate deportation procedures.
Read at www.dw.com
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