Overview

• Friedrich Merz, Germany's designated future Chancellor, aims to reduce annual asylum applications to fewer than 100,000.
• Proposed measures include enforcing border rejections, launching a return campaign, and suspending family reunification policies.
• The plan responds to pressures on public infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and municipalities, which Merz says are overstretched.
• Coordination efforts with neighboring countries, such as Austria, are already underway to implement the new policies effectively.
• Recent data shows a 30% drop in asylum applications in 2024, with 229,751 first-time applications recorded—a significant decrease from previous years.