GERMANY: "I have absolutely no understanding for this!" Friedrich Merz gives "Ampel" an ultimatum!

And I'm now joined by Irene Mihalic, parliamentary director of the Greens. Good afternoon, Ms. Mihalic. Good afternoon, Mr. Gund. Do you think this government can still make a difference? Mr. Lindner would like to give up and the Chancellor will now work with the opposition. It's always just arguments and arguments, and that doesn't happen because the content is explained incorrectly, but because they probably just can't get along anymore, right? So, I think, given the security situation we find ourselves in, we obviously have to think about what can happen next in our country. The federal government has drawn up proposals and presented a security package. We are now assuming that the federal government will quickly develop the relevant legal texts so that we can of course pass them in parliament. But of course we also have an interest in including the opposition. That's why discussions have already taken place with the Union, and given this background, I honestly have no understanding at all if Mr. Merz is now starting to use ultimatums. This is completely inappropriate for the situation. If he also refuses to talk to us about important security issues, he should fundamentally rethink his policy. But now Mr. Merz has given this ultimatum. What exactly do you say to the CDU? What I would say to the CDU would be that we of course have to initiate the necessary legislative measures even with our majority in the traffic lights. We are not dependent on the opposition's votes, but we still have a political interest in meeting with the opposition on difficult issues that concern our country - and this has now become really clear - and in looking for solutions together. Mr. Merz has to decide for himself whether he is interested in it. In any case, we are available for discussions. Yes, but it's also quite difficult within traffic lights. When it comes to rejections at the border, the FDP says: “Yes, it works, at least in part.” The Greens say: “No, it doesn’t work.” What now ? Rejections are already taking place at the border, namely for all people who are either subject to an entry ban or who do not apply for asylum in Germany. For all other people it is problematic because the legal situation contradicts this. This means that people who apply for asylum at our border are obliged to examine it. There is case law and European law on this that is clear. The Union is now proposing to turn these people back at the border because it assumes that they have no prospect of staying. However, this is legally inadmissible. The Union must of course ask itself what proposal it is making. What is not possible is to continually enter the debate with proposals that do not stand up to legal scrutiny or closer examination. We expect more seriousness from the opposition. What would it mean if, let me say, the SPD, FDP and the Union ignored the opinion of the Greens ? Well, we still have a coalition, and the coalition has already presented proposals on how the security situation in the country can be improved, including what still needs to be done in the area of ​​migration. Negotiations on the common European asylum system have taken place over many years , and that is something that the federal government is still implementing. That's why I assume that we as a coalition are able to solve our country's problems together. As I said, we also offer the opposition the chance to talk to the Union. If the Union is interested in this, we are available. But if Mr. Friedrich Merz is only interested in causing a ruckus and showing off the traffic lights, then we are not ready for that. Mr. Merz has to decide that for himself. One suggestion from your ranks is joint border patrols with neighboring countries to limit entry . What exactly are you thinking about and which countries do you want to work with? Such collaborations already exist. If you look at France, it is well established that German and French police patrol together on the French side. It's about fighting crime, but also about illegal entry. We also have similar police cooperation with other neighboring countries on our eastern border. That means such collaborations do exist. It would now be in our interest to intensify this cooperation and to set up the procedures more broadly and better establish them so that we can also talk about regulatory measures in the area of ​​migration beyond the German border. In any case, that would also be on safe ground under European law. We would do this together with our European neighbors and not against them, as the Union's proposal envisages. Because we as Germany are dependent on European cooperation. We are surrounded by European member states, and if we now go it alone nationally, the other European states would no longer take part. Then we would no longer have any agreement at all on European asylum and migration policy. Ms. Mihalic, thank you very much for this conversation. Very much.