In the past week, several high-profile crimes took place in Germany, committed by either Muslim immigrants or their children. In most cases, there is no connection to ISIL, according to media reports. Are these crimes the result of Angela Merkel’s migration policy?
Will Germany take any steps to toughen migration policy in this new reality? Vladislav Belov, head of the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, answers the questions of valdaiclub.com.
“Germany is in the crosshair of international terrorism, in part, Daesh, an organization banned in most countries of the world. There is a possibility of terrorist attacks henceforth. But today, this situation is under control, although society is stirred up, there are fears,” Belov believes. According to him, it is wrong to imply that the German government and Angela Merkel’s migration policy is connected to the recent outburst of violence.
“Today’s coalition government deserves praise, first of all, because of its integration plan, which is designed to help people receiving asylum status, and later citizenship. There is an entire package of measures that assist in the learning of German language and entering a profession. There are tough criteria, without fulfilling which you will not get that status and will be deported from the country,” Belov explained.
It is wrong to talk about a tougher migration policy in Germany or the EU in general, because, according to the expert, the recent violence is not connected with Daesh, and should be treated as Germany’s internal affairs. According to Belov, it would be right to consider the outburst of violence in such a short period of time as a coincidence, because there is no evidence that it was planned in advance.
Because of this, according to Belov, Germany will undertake measures related to generally reducing crime, rather than those connected to migrant legislation.
“Possibly, gun laws will be tightened, I think there will be an increase in the number of policemen responsible for public security,” Belov said. Asked about how the recent migrant violence will impact German society, he concluded: “Society will pay more attention to what is going on at their neighbors’ house, on the street. There will be more information, which will have to be confirmed.”
