❓WHAT HAPPENED: European Union (EU) interior ministers—whose roles are roughly equivalent to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary’s—declared that deportations to Afghanistan and Syria must be permitted.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner, and ministers from France, Poland, Austria, Denmark, and Czechia.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The declaration was made at the Zugspitze Summit in Germany in July.
💬KEY QUOTE: “These are all enormously important steps toward a credible asylum policy in Europe,” said Gerhard Karner.
🎯IMPACT: The declaration pushes for faster return mechanisms for irregular migrants and strengthens Frontex’s mandate.
At the mountaintop Zugspitze Summit in Germany, European Union (EU) interior ministers pushed for deportations to Afghanistan and Syria, both now relatively stable as a result of victories by the Taliban and al-Qaeda Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), respectively.
The interior ministers advocated for stricter migration policies across the EU, where migrant crime is an increasing concern. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt led the summit, which also included representatives from France, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Czechia, and EU Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner.
The group underscored the importance of streamlining and accelerating the process for deporting migrants, saying deportations to Syria and Afghanistan “must be possible.” Their statement also urged an enhanced role for Frontex, the European Union border agency, to support EU nations in deporting migrants to designated hubs in third countries. The Trump administration in the U.S. is implementing a similar policy, deporting migrants who cannot be sent home immediately to third countries such as Swaziland and South Sudan.
Germany carried out its first deportation of convicted criminals to Afghanistan since 2024 on the same day as the summit, with Austria having recently conducted a similar deportation to Syria—the first EU deportations to the country since the former Assad government was overthrown by HTS.
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