Germany's Schaeuble admits 'mistakes' in refugee policy

[webfact]

Germany's Schaeuble admits 'mistakes' in refugee policy

REUTERS

 

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party CDU uses a mobile phone during the CDU party convention in Essen,Germany, December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany made mistakes with an open-door policy that saw more than a million migrants enter Germany over the past two years, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble acknowledged on Sunday, but he said Berlin was trying to learn from those missteps.

 

"We have tried to improve what got away from us in 2015," Schaeuble told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "We politicians are human; we also make mistakes. But one can at least learn from them."

 

Schaeuble is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, who have lost support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany(AfD) party over the migration issue, after several attacks carried out by migrants.

 

The AfD is now poised to become the third largest party in parliament in September national elections.

 

The issue has also divided the European Union, with many countries balking at taking in a proportional share of refugees.

 

Schaeuble said Europe needed to consider harmonising its social benefits to achieve a more equitable distribution of migrants among EU members, a subject that he said had thus far been considered "taboo" in Germany.

 

"We have much higher standards when it comes to social benefits than most European countries. That's why so many want to come to Germany," he told the newspaper.

 

Schaeuble also said he was sceptical about the leadership style of the U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sparked concerns among European leaders with executive orders on immigration, as well as his decision to cancel trade agreements.

 

"In America, we can now see how someone is acting as if he can do everything very quickly. That will not only have good results," he said.

 

A poll conducted earlier this month showed that refugee policy would be the biggest issue for voters in the September election.

 

Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term in office, spoke by telephone on Saturday with Trump, who has described her August 2015 decision to keep Germany's borders open to refugees, mostly from the Middle East, as a "catastrophic mistake."

 

In September, after a defeat for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in a Berlin state election, Merkel said she wished she could turn back the clock on the migrant crisis, although she stopped short of saying her policy was a mistake.

 

Merkel has rejected calls from the CDU's Bavarian sister party to set an upper limit on migration, but is now pressing for more aggressive steps to send back migrants who are refused asylum, as well as action to prevent a similar flood of migrant from Africa.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by Larry King)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-30

[ezzra]

 

And to wonder how come the so called efficient and smart german government

didn't see that from very far ahead... that letting in over 1 millions of aliens

in to their country will somehow, go smooth and the people of Germany would

be happy about it... the phrase 'we told you so' comes to mined right about now....

Edited January 30, 2017 by ezzra

[Scott]

It worked reasonably well with the breakup of Yugoslavia.   Germany was able to accommodate a large number of refugees and also oversaw their successful return to their homes.  

 

Syria, is a whole different cup of tea, and I don't think anybody anticipated that there would be such a huge influx and from many, many countries other than those from Syria and the immediate territory around it.   I also don't think they expected that Europe's borders were so massively  unprotected.  

 

Most people who have worked in the refugee area know that any statement that encourages people to leave needs to be very carefully and diplomatically worded.  

 

Germany would have been much better off to keep quiet and get into the camps on the borders and start resettling people if they wanted to help.   It's a perilous journey and in addition to a high percentage of economic migrants, there have been many thousands of deaths.

 

It's a little like throwing 1,000 baht notes on the expressway and watching the carnage.  

[bangon04]

"In America, we can now see how someone is acting as if he can do everything very quickly. That will not only have good results," he said.

 

yes because Merkel's open-door policy was so very carefully thought out and fine-tuned before it ever got announced by her....

[sweatalot]

"... Berlin was trying to learn from those missteps. "

learning is not enough

 

They need to undo this "missteps"

[baboon]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

And to wonder how come the so called efficient and smart german government

didn't see that from very far ahead... that letting in over 1 millions of aliens

in to their country will somehow, go smooth and the people of Germany would

be happy about it... the phrase 'we told you so' comes to mined right about now....

Letting in over 1 millions of aliens to their country AND COUNTING. Fixed that for you.

 

Still, cheer up! At least they don't have to live with it, so it isn't the end of the world...

[Ralf61]

Common procedure in politics: creating a mess on purpose and than say "Sorry, I was wrong". Adolfo did, Willy Brand did, Bush did, Obama did, Merkel did, name them...

[Saradoc1972]

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany made mistakes with an open-door policy that saw more than a million migrants enter Germany over the past two years, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble acknowledged on Sunday, but he said Berlin was trying to learn from those missteps.

 

"We have tried to improve what got away from us in 2015," Schaeuble told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "We politicians are human; we also make mistakes. But one can at least learn from them."

 

That was not a mistake in that they did, as in something possibly even stupid that later turned out to have been the wrong way, that was incompetence and megalomania.

Merkel wanted the world to see her friendly face when everybody, including German security experts told her that would have disastrous consequences, including the crime wave and getting multiple identities to rip off the social services, which we are now seeing.

Leading police officers and immigration officials went to notaries by the thousands to put down in writing how they had been ordered to comply with Merkel's directive against their remonstrations, so it would not fly in their face personally.

 

We are humans? OK, you're my buddy again; just wen't after anyone voicing concerns or protesting as Nazis, Islamophobes and whatnot, taking them to the courts of trivialities.

"Learn" something? Now? Learn how to herd cats?

 

[Ulic]

The second (and far bigger shoe) is yet to drop when family

reunification immigration starts a year after people are granted

asylum status. If Germany were to stop admitting migrants now

there are still a potential 10-20 million people on the way over

the next 4-5 years once family reunification moves into full swing.  

[Saradoc1972]

Quote

Schaeuble is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, who have lost support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany(AfD) party over the migration issue, after several attacks carried out by migrants.

 

Ah, yes. AFD (Alternative for Germany) are NOT anti-immigration as such. Thankfully any notions of "far-right" or "populist" are missing in this news-clip, for a change.

Unless you consider that influx of people parroting "Asylum" when they had been through half a score countries not beset by any sort of war or unrest as "immigration".

 

[Saradoc1972]

2 minutes ago, Ulic said:

The second (and far bigger shoe) is yet to drop when family

reunification immigration starts a year after people are granted

asylum status. If Germany were to stop admitting migrants now

there are still a potential 10-20 million people on the way over

the next 4-5 years once family reunification moves into full swing.  

 

Basically right, our own Mr Sarrazin did suggest, already a year ago, "to remember the factor five". So it should be closer to 5 million people we are looking at. Unless we finally drop out of the Geneva convention and submit a temporary exception to the European Court of Human Rights. It's not like Germany could cope with that sort of influx with a view to both accommodation and teachers.

[petermik]

And they wonder why the UK people want out

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Germany's Schaeuble admits 'mistakes' in refugee policy

Yes Herr Schaeuble mistakes big enough to drive a truck through. I am sure the voters will show their disgust come election day that is if they can get up enough courage to leave their house on election day. 

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, baboon said:

Letting in over 1 millions of aliens to their country AND COUNTING. Fixed that for you.

 

Still, cheer up! At least they don't have to live with it, so it isn't the end of the world...

 

If only those other insolent EU member states had done has Germany instructed and accepted their imposed quotas without comment.

 

Angela would be ridding on high, collect all those awards, millions and millions of economic chancers would be living off generous benefits, and even some real refugees might have benefit.

 

Still, this is the bloke who said elections shouldn't be allowed to change things! So Angela will do a few things, never admit any wrong doing herself, be re-elected and continue. All is well in Germany.

[LammyTS1]

Too late now....