Previous German governments have sought to soften Europe’s most extreme immigration stances.
Now, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Berlin is seeking to take the lead on the continent’s anti-immigration policies.
A sharp shift in Germany’s stance promises to accelerate the EU’s rightward shift on migration. The bloc is preparing to introduce a series of new measures aimed at sharply limiting the number of asylum seekers and increasing deportations. As European leaders debate how to implement these measures, representatives of some of the strictest member states are welcoming Germany’s new role.
"Germany is having some of the most important conversations on the subject," Danish Immigration Minister Kaare Dubvad told POLITICO. "We are happy about this."
Indicative of Berlin's new role was the gesture of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who gathered colleagues from countries with strict migration policies, such as Austria, Denmark and Poland, on the highest peak in Germany - Zugspitze. A golden cross rises at the top of the mountain - a strong symbolic sign.
"We want to clearly show that Germany is no longer in the role of a brake on migration issues, but is part of the driving force in Europe," said Dobrindt.
The message has been well received in Brussels.
"If Germany contributes more and engages more seriously, that is very positive. We will simply progress faster," commented EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner. "I am therefore very pleased that the German government has chosen this path and strongly supports the Commission's proposals."
Germany's new course removes one of the main obstacles to implementing policies that were until recently considered extreme - such as deporting migrants to third countries or processing asylum applications outside the EU.
Although the turnaround in German migration policy began under the previous center-left government, Merz's coalition is taking an even tougher course under pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is now the largest opposition party in the Bundestag.
"For years, Germany was one of the few countries that defended the post-war asylum system," said Ravenna Sost of the Migration Policy Institute. "Now that Germany is joining the hardliners, the balance of European migration policy is shifting to the right."
The new German position does not mean that the EU is united on the issue. Serious disagreements remain over responsibility-sharing, the redistribution of asylum seekers and procedures outside the EU's borders.
Under the previous government of Olaf Scholz, Germany played a key role in mediating between southern countries such as Italy and Greece, which want more solidarity, and northern countries that insist that migrants not leave southern Europe. Now Merz is inclined to defend the interests of central and northern Europe more forcefully.
The Zugspitze summit - without representatives from southern European countries - clearly demonstrates this, according to experts.
"Germany has always supported a European approach," says Sost. "We are now seeing her building key coalitions within the EU - a strategic move that increases her influence in the Council."
The new course comes at a time when the number of asylum seekers in Europe is declining but still historically high. Alarmed by the rise of the AfD, Merz's coalition has taken a number of controversial measures - halting family reunification for hundreds of thousands of migrants (including Syrians) and ending a resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans.
"The rhetoric has become sharper and the policies stricter", says Victoria Rettig of the German Council on Foreign Relations.
However, internal differences within the ruling coalition may prevent Merz from continuing the hard line.
Many MPs from the coalition partner, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), are uncomfortable with some of the cabinet's migration measures, even though they had supported them in principle when forming the government.
MP Rasha Nasr notes: "There is not a single person in our parliamentary group who is a fan of security-oriented policies, especially in the area of migration.
The issue is expected to become a source of serious disagreement in the fall, when new proposals will be discussed - such as expanding the list of "safe countries" to which migrants can be deported and eliminating legal aid for those subject to expulsion.
The SPD may oppose both some of the domestic measures and Merz's desire to lead the EU's hard line on migration.
"This will be one of the most difficult topics in the coalition", Rettig says. "Therefore, we should not rule out the possibility that future migration decisions at the EU level will be delayed."