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German chancellor clarifies Syrian refugee comments after backlash
Merz said the target came from Syria’s president after economists warned a mass return could worsen labour shortages and integration efforts.
- On Tuesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz clarified that he had not set an 80% repatriation target for Syrians in Germany, attributing the figure to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while acknowledging the scale of the task.
- During a Monday press conference in Berlin, Merz had initially echoed a claim by President Sharaa that 80% of Syrians in Germany could return home within three years, sparking immediate political backlash.
- Economists warned that repatriating 800,000 of the one million Syrians in Germany could worsen labor shortages, while politicians criticized the goal as unrealistic and harmful to integration efforts.
- Greens MP Luise Amtsberg accused the Chancellor of "unsettling hundreds of thousands of German-Syrians," while the policy reversal unfolded within 24 hours of the original announcement amid coalition criticism.
- Sharaa later contradicted the target, stating that returns require major Western investment to prevent refugees from having to "start their life from zero," describing the initial goal as "somewhat exaggerated.
58 Articles
58 Articles
On 30 March, during the visit to Berlin of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Charaa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that "in the next three years", "about 80% of Syrians" present in Germany should "return" to Syria, presenting this perspective as a wish of the Syrian Head of State intended to contribute to the reconstruction of the country, reports Le Monde. The objective, he added, would be to "repatriate" as a matter of priority people who no l…
A statement by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (70, CDU) creates fear among the Syrians and chaos in Germany – and a statement by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa (43) in London counters the statement.
der Standard AT
der Standard DEChancellor Merz called his statement of Monday, according to which 80 percent of Syrians are to return from Germany to their country of origin, "a little exaggerated"
Statement against statement: The Federal Government renounces a denial of the word of the Syrian transitional president. Merz had objected to the fact that the target mark of 80 percent recovery came from him.
Friedrich Merz no longer wants to say that 80 percent of Syrians have to leave Germany. Instead, the Syrian president said this, but he denied it. On Wednesday, the government spokesman tried to limit damage.
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