Bundestag: Merkel’s Decision on Accepting Refugees ‘Illegal’

Two days before the parliamentary elections in Germany, local media reported on Friday the assessment of the legal department of the Bundestag, which concluded that the opening of borders for refugees two years ago was not legally justified.

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– The federal government has not explained to this day on what legal basis it allowed the entry of refugees into the country in the autumn of 2015. As a rule, these individuals should have been sent back to Austria, which is considered a safe country, states the assessment of the legal department of the scientific service of the Bundestag, which is available for review by the newspaper Die Welt.

The lawyers of the Bundestag also believe that parliamentary approval was necessary for a decision of this kind. They refer to a ruling by the Constitutional Court which determined that decisions regarding immigration to Germany, related to the control of the share of the foreign-born population, are made by the legislative authority, namely the Bundestag, and thus the opening of borders for refugees should have been decided by the parliament representatives.

The decision to open the borders for refugees was made on September 4, 2015, by Chancellor Angela Merkel herself after consultations with several ministers.

Without Legal Basis

According to existing laws, an exemption from the “entry ban” for refugees from neighboring safe countries can only be issued by the Ministry of the Interior. However, this formal act was never executed, so it is concluded in the assessment that the decision to open the borders “was never legally justified.”

The assessment of the scientific service of the German parliament could put Angela Merkel’s federal government in trouble, as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) have announced the initiation of an investigative committee on the responsibility for the influx of refugees into Germany in case they enter the Bundestag after the parliamentary elections on Sunday. Both the right-wing populist AfD and the FDP, according to all public opinion polls, are expected to surpass the electoral threshold and enter the Bundestag on Sunday.

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Criticism of Angela Merkel’s refugee policy is the foundation of the success of the right-wing populists from the AfD, who could become the third political force in the Bundestag in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The scientific service of the Bundestag is part of the administration of the German parliament that scientifically clarifies certain expert issues related to the work of the parliament at the request of representatives. The scientific service is divided into several expert areas from history to politics to ethics. This service employs 65 scientists.