Germany is drawing a hard line—and fast.
In his very first hours on the job, freshly sworn-in Chancellor Friedrich Merz wasted no time making headlines. According to Die Welt, Merz is preparing to declare a national emergency over migration—a dramatic pivot from the open-door policies of years past. And Europe is already on alert.
This isn't political posturing. Ambassadors from neighboring countries have reportedly been briefed. The message? Germany is shifting gears. The era of mass asylum is over.
Merz’s bold move comes as Germany continues to top the EU charts for asylum claims. In 2024 alone, Berlin took in more than 237,000 asylum seekers—a full quarter of the EU’s total. But the welcome mat is being rolled up.
Germany, it seems, is done playing nice.
The new policy hinges on Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which allows EU member states to override certain EU laws in the name of internal security. That means Germany can now prioritize national control over Brussels' rules.
With 3,700 kilometers of shared borders—including with Poland, France, Austria, and the Netherlands—this is more than a domestic shift. It's a continental ripple. And in the Schengen Area, where passport-free travel has long been the norm, Berlin’s crackdown could rattle the whole region.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt made it crystal clear: “We will control the borders more strictly,” he said. Expect more rejections. Fewer entries. And a noticeable tone change from the Merkel era.
In fact, Dobrindt just instructed Germany’s Federal Police to toss aside a 2015 directive from former Chancellor Angela Merkel—the one that opened the doors during Europe’s refugee crisis. That policy, which welcomed over a million migrants, is now officially in the rearview.
The goal, according to Dobrindt, is nothing less than a global wake-up call: “The policy in Germany has changed.”
And changed it has. Swiftly. Starkly. And with a message that’s already echoing across Europe: The gates are closing.
And changed it has. Swiftly. Starkly. And with a message that’s already echoing across Europe: The gates are closing.