Agency Report –
The German Interior Ministry has confirmed that there are three cases in the courts relating to the government’s policy to turn asylum seekers away at the border, Stern magazine reported in an article published on Sunday.
A Berlin court in June ruled that turning back three Somali nationals at a border checkpoint between Poland and Germany was unlawful, as German authorities failed to initiate proper asylum procedures and instead returned the group to Poland without following the EU’s so-called Dublin Regulation.
“There are currently three further court cases pending in connection with the rejection of asylum seekers,” Stern quoted a spokesman for the Interior Ministry as saying.
The urgent decision by the Berlin Administrative Court was a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to crack down on irregular migration.
Shortly after taking office, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt introduced enhanced border checks on May 7, including new rules allowing asylum seekers to be turned away at the border. Merz has backed the policy, saying he would continue to support turnbacks despite the court’s ruling.
In the first case to emerge over the controversial move, the Berlin court ruled in favour of three Somalis who were turned back to Poland from the border town of Frankfurt an der Oder on May 9.
After the group applied for asylum, authorities returned them to Poland the same day.
According to the court, the Federal Police justified the swift return on the basis that the individuals had arrived from a “safe third country.”
However, the Somali nationals challenged the decision and were successful in summary proceedings before an administrative court.
The ruling found that the immediate transfer back to Poland without an adequate examination of their asylum claims was unlawful.
Following the ruling, Dobrindt spoke of an “individual judgement.”
Dobrindt said that Germany would offer further justification for invoking Article 72 — a special clause under EU law that permits exceptions to asylum rules in emergencies.
“We will submit sufficient justification, but the European Court of Justice should decide on the matter,” Dobrindt told the Funke media group, adding: “I am convinced that our actions are in line with European law.”
Poland plans to introduce temporary checks at the German-Polish border from Monday, in response to German border checks in place since October 2023 in a bid to quell irregular migration.
Dobrindt has invited counterparts from several neighbouring countries to talks on tightening European migration policy in Germany on July 18.
By Alexander Missal
