Caring for migrants pushes municipal governments to their financial limits. The federal government wants to ensure that fewer people come to Germany without the right to stay – with the new migration agreement.

In his new position, Joachim Stamp hasn’t made headlines so far. Since February, the FDP politician has called himself the federal government’s special representative on migration agreements. And since then it’s been pretty quiet around him.

Apparently Stamp didn’t want to go into the media with a water level report, but rather with success. In other words, with a strictly agreed timetable for how illegal migration can be reduced. Because that’s one of the goals of the federal government, written in its coalition agreement.

A difficult goal to achieve, admits Stamp on the government’s Inside the Government podcast. “It’s no use thinking that you now have a special agent who will snap his fingers and in a few months the problem will disappear.”

“Smart agreement” is required

Stamp spoke of the “smart deals” that need to be negotiated now, which are also “holding in practice.” This is often not the case with the agreements Germany has made with more than 30 countries in the past.

They call themselves repatriation agreements, and some date back to the 1990s. The list includes countries such as Albania, Algeria, Morocco and Romania. However, several states refuse to accept back compatriots who do not have the right to reside in Germany. Stamp put it this way: Countries will not benefit from this agreement. Incentives are needed to get them to play together. Giving and receiving.

“biggest Challenge for German diplomacy”

Migration researcher and political adviser Gerald Knaus has worked on such agreements for years. He called her in daily topic “the greatest challenge to German diplomacy”. And suggested that the federal government could offer visa facilities or scholarships to partner countries for students at German universities.

According to Knaus, such promises mean that it is in the interest of politicians in the migrants’ home countries to keep their promises. So they take back people without resident status in Germany. As an example, Knaus cites several Balkan states that use this system.

Stamp’s special representative is now working on a watertight agreement that doesn’t rely solely on repatriation. Negotiations are ongoing with Uzbekistan, for example, and a declaration of intent has been signed. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Stamp is in secret talks with other countries.

Further migration agreements can be made, for example with countries in Africa. Stamp did not name specific countries on the continent, but did report on a government podcast about the thousands of Africans who live in Germany and receive social benefits here. They in turn use this money to support their families back home.

German social benefits as a remittance

FDP politicians observed something similar with migrants from Eastern Europe: People from Georgia or the Republic of Moldova come to Germany and apply for asylum here, which is refused in 99 percent of cases. You can appeal this decision. This often takes years because the state administrative courts are overburdened. So far, people in Germany have received social benefits. “And given the low wages in those countries, that appeals to some people,” says Stamp.

He therefore wants to classify Georgia and Moldova as safe countries of origin. Germany should become less attractive as a destination for migrants from there. Because they then have to file a lawsuit against the asylum application that was rejected in their home country. Which, according to Stamps, would remove the incentive to go to Germany if there was no longer any prospect of a long process in Germany – and therefore no social benefits either.

“Agreement is not a panacea”

“A migration agreement is not the panacea that traffic lights have been claiming for months,” said Alexander Throm, home affairs spokesman for the Union faction of the Bundestag. He wanted to know how the number of returns to India had progressed since Germany signed an agreement with the government in New Delhi at the end of last year.

The federal government’s response: Within four months, India took back 13 of its compatriots. Over the past year there were 52. That led Throm to this comment: “As soon as the federal government entered into a migration agreement with India, the number of repatriations to this country decreased.” CDU politicians are calling on traffic light governments to put more pressure on uncooperative countries that already have deals.

Special representative Stamp remains focused on the new agreement: According to her, Georgia and Moldova are ready for a migration partnership. If sealed, illegal migration to Germany could fall by around ten percent, the special representative calculated. Because this proportion consisted of rejected asylum applications from Georgia and Moldova last year.