Berlin – The current Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD), sees her trip to Syria as the beginning of a new phase in Germany's repatriation policy. In POLITICO's Berlin Playbook podcast, Faeser stated that the repatriation of rejected asylum seekers could soon become a reality: "This trip has marked the beginning." Faeser described the trip as a success. She was able to establish important contacts – including at the government level: "This trip was a success," the minister said. "We have contacts at the working level, including at the ministerial level. And we have received a commitment from Syria that they will help us obtain replacement passports and issue documents." Looking at the overall balance of her term in office, Faeser pointed to progress in migration policy: "I think the migration turnaround has already been successful, because we have already been able to reduce irregular migration by 50 percent, or to be precise, even 55 percent since 2023." This is the result of numerous measures that will continue beyond the coalition agreement, Faeser said. At the same time, she warned the incoming federal government against unilateral national efforts in border protection. "I just want to point out again that we have already carried out 53,000 pushbacks at the German border since the end of 2023." These are permissible under European law – and only successful through close cooperation with neighboring countries: "Just to clarify, because the better you cooperate with neighboring countries, the better the pushback will be."
