By Anadolu staff
BERLIN (AA) - Germany's draft legislation for stricter immigration measures has drawn sharp criticism from NGOs that warn planned reception centers will function as "detention centers," isolating and marginalizing refugees.
On Wednesday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition government approved two draft bills that aim to align national legislation with the EU's Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and create new reception centers for asylum seekers who arrive through other EU countries.
The Pro Asyl rights group has strongly criticized the planned amendments, warning that the so-called "Dublin centers"—where asylum seekers who entered the EU through another member state will be held—would effectively result in the "de facto detention of refugees" in Germany.
"Isolating and marginalizing refugees in special facilities is irresponsible and causes despair, stress, and depression among those affected,” Pro Asyl’s spokeswoman Wiebke Judith said in a statement. "The German government should abandon these plans. Specifically, there must be no mass detention-like conditions for refugees," she said.
Under the EU's Dublin regulation, asylum seekers must apply for refugee status in the first European country they enter. Although most refugees initially arrive in Europe through Spain, Italy or Greece, many subsequently travel to Germany seeking better opportunities.
The German government plans to hold asylum seekers arriving through other EU member states in these Dublin centers and transfer them more quickly to the countries they first entered.
The EU's Common European Asylum System (CEAS), set to take effect next year, aims to distribute accepted asylum seekers across member states. Under this framework, EU countries experiencing migration pressure will receive support from other members through either financial aid, material resources, or the relocation of asylum seekers.