Germany takes in 942 refugees under EU resettlement so far this year
Berlin (dpa) – Germany has taken in 942 refugees from Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo, Eritrea and other countries so far this year through the European Union’s resettlement programme.
“Since the change of government on May 7, 2025, no further arrivals have taken place,” the government said in response to written questions from member of parliament Desiree Becker of The Left party, who had submitted two questions on the programme.
In its responses, seen by dpa, the German Interior Ministry noted that the coalition agreement between the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), calls for humanitarian admission programmes to be ended as far as possible and for no new programmes to be launched.
“We are currently examining how this can be implemented across the various programmes, including resettlement procedures,” the ministry said, adding that until a final decision is made, relevant procedures remain suspended.
Under the programme, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) identifies particularly vulnerable people for resettlement. German authorities then conduct interviews and security checks on site. Refugees do not need to submit an asylum application upon arrival in Germany.
Germany has pledged a total of 13,100 places for 2024 and 2025 to the UNHCR and the European Commission, which provides financial support for the programme. This includes humanitarian admissions of Syrian refugees from Türkiye, part of an EU-Türkiye agreement dating back to 2016.
Becker criticized the government for failing to uphold its humanitarian responsibilities. “While there is loud discussion about so-called ‘illegal border crossings,’ safe routes into the country are being deliberately closed,” she said. (19 July)
