From refugee advocate to border guardian: Germany’s policy pivot reshapes EU politics

According to Politico, previous German governments tried to temper the EU’s most hardline impulses on migration, but today’s Germany under Merz is competing to lead Europe’s anti-migration drive.

The clear change in Germany’s migration stance under the new government signals an acceleration of the EU’s shift to the right on this issue, as the bloc prepares to roll out a set of new measures aimed at sharply reducing the number of migrants entering Europe and deporting many more.

As EU leaders negotiate how to implement these measures, some of the bloc’s most hardline member states are welcoming Germany’s new role.

In a highly symbolic example of how Berlin is now promoting change in EU migration policy rather than moderating it, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt recently hosted counterparts from several countries with strict migration policies, including Austria, Denmark, and Poland.

At the meeting, Dobrindt declared: “We want to make it clear that Germany is no longer an obstacle to solving Europe’s migration issues but part of the driving force.”

That message was well received in Brussels.

The EU’s migration commissioner, speaking on the sidelines of the summit, said: “I am very pleased that the German government has chosen this path.”

Germany’s new willingness to lead the anti-migration front in Europe removes a key barrier that had blocked the adoption of certain policy proposals from other European countries — proposals that until recently were considered politically unworkable.

These include plans to deport migrants to third countries and process asylum applications outside the EU, mirroring the UK’s failed Rwanda scheme — an approach Merz has previously praised as “something we could emulate.”

While Germany’s migration stance had already begun to shift under the previous left-leaning government, Merz’s coalition — under pressure from the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the largest opposition party in the Bundestag — has taken a much harder line to prevent conservative voters from defecting to the far right.

A migration policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute noted: “Over the past few years, Germany was really one of the main opponents across the EU, defending the post-war asylum system. With Germany now joining other member states, the balance of what counts as mainstream migration policy in Europe shifts to the right.”

Deep divisions remain in the EU over migration

Germany’s shift does not mean Europe is now united on migration. In fact, when it comes to enforcing tougher asylum rules, internal rifts remain.

Two years ago, EU leaders reached a historic agreement on a framework to tighten asylum rules, but the details must still be worked out before the plan can be implemented next year.

Contentious questions remain over mandatory burden-sharing and relocation of migrants within the EU, as well as asylum procedures conducted beyond the EU’s external borders.

Here, the interests of southern and northern European countries do not necessarily align. The previous German coalition under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz played a key mediating role between countries like Greece and Italy — seeking greater EU help in managing migrant arrivals via their shores — and northern countries whose governments want to ensure that asylum seekers cannot leave southern Europe to reach their territory.

At the recent migration meeting hosted by Germany, no southern European officials were present — a telling sign of these continuing divides.

Merz’s preference for prioritizing Germany’s perceived national interests over EU unity became clear soon after taking office. He sharply tightened controls on Germany’s national borders, angering neighbors — particularly Poland, which retaliated with its own measures.

Rifts inside the Merz coalition

Germany’s migration policy shift comes as the overall number of asylum seekers arriving in Europe for various reasons has been declining.

Still, Merz’s coalition, wary of the AfD, has since coming to power in May adopted a series of controversial migration measures — including moves to suspend family reunification for hundreds of thousands in Germany and to freeze the resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans.

A migration expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations observed: “Rhetorically, things have gotten tougher, and the policies have gotten tougher too, but internal disagreements within the Merz coalition could still derail his plans going forward.”