Member of the European Parliament
I criticized the European Commission's planned migration agreement with Lebanon on DW. With such deals, the EU is making itself vulnerable to blackmail from unreliable partners.
Furthermore, the situation for refugees in Lebanon is extremely difficult. We should ensure that refugees there are better integrated and also facilitate resettlement to Europe. Human dignity must be at the heart of our cooperation.
In an interview with Ippen.Media / Frankfurter Rundschau, I warned against losing sight of the people affected by the GEAS reform. Striking phrases, symbolic politics and the appropriation of right-wing populist demands and prejudices will not lead to the weakening of right-wing parties. You can read the article here.
On rbb Inforadio, I described how the EU asylum reform will not bring about any improvements and will create more additional problems. The last few years of asylum and migration policy have been characterized by symbolic politics and too few active solutions, and this reform will continue this in part. You can find the whole interview here.
In an interview with Phoenix, I explained why we need fewer populist debates and more pragmatic solutions that do not amount to treating people worse and worse and creating more chaos and suffering at the external borders. You can find the video of the interview here.
Before the final vote on the reform of the Common European Asylum System, I explained to Deutschlandfunk radio why the European Greens will vote against most parts of the reform. The reform will not improve the organization of migration, but in practice will create more bureaucracy and more suffering for those affected and will not tackle the causes of flight. Why we need new approaches and a change of course, you can listen here.
In an interview with NDR, I criticized the fact that mass camps at the external borders do not solve any problems and why we cannot wipe away the complex challenges with simple answers. Above all, the reform will create a bureaucratic monster and hardly improve the situation in the municipalities or the chaos at the external borders. Here you can listen to the interview.
I tried to make it clear to Alexander Throm that there are no simple answers to complex challenges, even if the CDU would like there to be. Especially not when more and more wars, crises and natural disasters are forcing people to flee their homes. You can watch the world duel of the day here.
Following the Correctiv revelation that AfD politicians are already planning mass deportations together with other right-wing extremists, I spoke to Deutschlandfunk radio about the rise of right-wing extremism in Germany. It was also about the populism of conservative parties and the fact that we need to find our way back to a democratic culture of debate. Click here’for the interview.
The reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) includes a massive tightening of asylum law, but the overall package does not provide an answer to the real challenges of European migration policy. More on this in my interview with Deutschlandfunk.
The agreement between Italy and Albania cannot function under the rule of law and will not solve any problems, I told MDR. To the interview.