Germany suspends UNHCR refugee admissions amid policy shift

Germany has frozen the admission of individuals in need of special protection under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) program.

According to a report in the Handelsblatt daily, citing the German Interior Ministry, the decision is related to government formation efforts.

The decision is reportedly linked to ongoing coalition government negotiations between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parties and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), where the tightening of immigration policy is being discussed.

It was stated that the parties agreed to terminate existing voluntary refugee admission programs as soon as possible and not to participate in new ones.

Exceptions will only be made for those whose procedures are in the final stages of completion.

The UNHCR program allows refugees who have already been granted asylum to resettle in a third country.

The receiving state has the right to independently determine the number of people it will accept and from which countries these people will come.

Germany had pledged to accept 13,100 refugees for 2024 and 2025.

It was stated that 5,061 people have entered the country so far under this quota. It was reported that these individuals include Ukrainians and Syrian citizens who fled the war with Russia.

The European Union (EU) and Turkey reached an agreement in 2016 on the resettlement of Syrians.

Earlier, it was revealed that Germany had fallen to third place in the EU in terms of the number of asylum applications, losing its lead for the first time in many years.

According to a report in the Welt, based on a confidential European Commission report, the number of applications made in the first quarter of this year was 37,787.

This figure represents a 41% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. France was reported to be the most attractive country for asylum seekers, with 40,871 applications. Spain ranked second with 39,318 applications.

It was noted that the citizens who applied for asylum in Germany the most were from Syria (24%), Afghanistan (16%), and Turkey (11%), respectively.

In general, it was stated that the most requests for refugee status in the EU came from Venezuelan citizens, with 25,375 people.

The number of applications from Venezuelans reportedly increased by 44% in one year.