According to the border security agency Frontex, illegal migration to the EU is at its highest level since 2016. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) therefore held bilateral talks on the current migration situation with his German counterpart Nancy Faeser (SPD) on the sidelines of the EU. Council of Ministers of the Interior in Luxembourg. “Cross-border crime needs cross-border cooperation. We can only fight the hard fight against the smuggling mafia together,” Karner emphasized in a broadcast.
According to Karner, it is good that Germany is on board here and wants to further promote cooperation in the fight against human smuggling in Berlin.
Frontex: 228,240 illegal border crossings between January and September
The EU border security authority Frontex only announced on Thursday that 228,240 illegal border crossings had been detected between January and September. This corresponds to an increase of 70 percent compared to the same period last year. Ukrainian refugees were not counted.
“Western Balkan States Necessary Partners”
As the Ministry of the Interior in Vienna also announced on Sunday, the annual meeting of EU interior ministers, the EU Commission and six countries of the Western Balkans will take place in Berlin on Thursday. According to the Interior Ministry, the so-called “Berlin process” is about stronger cooperation in the fight against illegal migration, corruption and organized crime. The objectives are “regional cooperation with the states of the Western Balkans and the integration of the region into the European Union”.
German interior minister wants to keep borders open for Ukrainians
Germany’s interior minister recently stated that she would keep Germany open to refugees from Ukraine, but that she wanted to limit immigration for people fleeing the Balkan route and the Mediterranean. This had also been criticized by the SPD youth organisation. There should be no two-class society of refugees in Germany, Jusos national president Jessica Rosenthal told Deutschlandfunk.
As in other EU countries, there are also differences in Germany for refugees from Ukraine and people from other countries: Ukrainians in Germany are not legally obliged to stay in first-aid centers for 18 months. They are also not forbidden to work for nine months.
Also financially it sometimes goes better for war refugees from Ukraine in Germany: since 1 June they can also receive basic state security, so the same benefits as, for example, Hartz IV recipients. Refugees from other countries receive a lower benefit under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
Source: Krone
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