Von der Leyen’s party is pressing Brussels to fund Greek and Polish border fences – Euractiv

Germany’s center-right CDU (EPP) has called on the European Commission, led by fellow CDU member Ursula von der Leyen, to fund fences on the borders of Greece and Poland, as new German border controls increase pressure on first-entry countries.

Germany has re-introduced measures to deport more asylum seekers to the EU countries where they were first registered, which are usually located in countries bordering non-EU countries such as Greece, which, among other things, required EU funds for the construction of a fence on the external border with Turkey.

Although the Commission told Euractiv that EU member states are responsible for strengthening their borders, the CDU, Germany’s main opposition party, spoke out against it and called on the von der Leyen Commission for more EU support.

“I expect that the Federal Government and the European Commission will make sure that we do not abandon countries at the external borders, such as Poland and Greece,” Alexander Throm, the CDU’s lead MP for home affairs, told Euractiv.

“This task concerns all of us. And anyone who wants secure borders must also commit to border fortifications,” he added.

This would include supporting “structural and technical border protection, where necessary.”

However, the Commission suggested that a common EU approach should focus on “smart solutions” such as surveillance systems rather than fences.

Germany is skeptical about joint financing

Jointly funded border fortifications remain a sensitive issue because Germany’s relatively frugal center-left government has previously rejected the idea of ​​EU funding for border security.

But this is what Poland is like lining The resurgence of illegal migration on the borders with Belarus, Poland and the Baltic countries also argued for EU-funded military border strengthening at the last EU leaders’ summit in June.

However, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD/S&D), EU-funded border protection would be tantamount to “refinancing national defense efforts through European financial channels.”

Scholz also pointed to the European border protection agency Frontex as an existing source of non-defense protection.

However, as the CDU’s support for joint financing grows, the pressure on the Commission increases. The party is currently leading in polls, and its leader Friedrich Merz is in pole position to win the chancellorship in next year’s national elections.

Von der Leyen is known that it remained closely in touch with the Commission’s priorities ahead of the June European elections.

(Nick Alipour | Euractiv.de)