Introduction
Back to: The Asylum System and Its Functions
There are various provisions in Germany that regulate the issues related to immigration. Since Germany is part of the EU, it cannot be considered independently of the CEAS (=Common European Asylum System).
You already got to know CEAS in the chapter „History and background of migration in Europe“. These are the important points:
- CEAS is valid throughout Europe and was introduced as the legal basis after the opening of the internal European borders. Since then it has already been revised twice.
- The aim is to standardize the regulations between the European states, i.e. the issues such as ‘Who is a refugee? How many persons must be admitted? What standards does the country have to meet, e.g. with regard to initial admission?’
Although CEAS provides a common legal basis for EU countries, there are country-specific differences. Germany is not an exception.
The modern German asylum system is based on changes introduced after the Second World War. By means of a very open asylum system, the intention was to distinguish the country in the eyes of the world as a progressive and cosmopolitan state. In 1949, the right to asylum was even included in the constitution. Since the 20th century was not a quiet one due to political tensions and the world wars had made their contribution to it, there were again and again large migration rates, which is why already in the 70s attempts were made to reduce them 1.