According to the initiative, return centers will receive rejected asylum seekers in case there are legal grounds preventing their deportation to their home countries. Dobrindt is expected to discuss the initiative during the EU migration summit scheduled to be held in Munich.
The Federal Minister seeks to convince the EU to allow the establishment of return centers and to provide the legal means for that. Dobrindt also pointed out the possibility of establishing such centers without the EU’s assistance, saying, “At the same time, we recognize that we cannot rely on the EU to establish these centers.”
Dobrindt believes that European countries can establish return centers through networked cooperation among the member states to implement this in order to bypass European law, which requires a link between the individual and the country to which they may be deported. The proposal does not specify any particular countries or locations for establishing these centers.
Notably, Dobrindt had discussed the abolition of the link criterion with a number of European ministers during the EU migration summit last July. He agreed with ministers from five EU member states to work jointly toward removing the link criterion from European law.
The minister also decided to allow asylum seekers to work just three months after entering the country. This applies to those whose asylum applications are still under review. He said, “This will quickly show who is willing to participate in the labor market and integrate into our society and who merely seeks to access the social security system.”
