Adaptation of national law to the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS Adaptation Act)

In a roll-call vote, the Bundestag cleared the way for the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) in Germany. The federal government's law adapts German asylum and residence law to eleven EU legal acts that the European Parliament and the Council had already passed on May 14, 2024. The reform includes one directive and ten regulations and will come into full force in mid-2026. The aim is to make the European asylum system more uniform, speed up procedures, ensure humanitarian standards and better manage irregular migration. At the same time, a new solidarity mechanism is intended to ensure that member states are relieved of the burden of high migration burdens. The core of the reform is, among other things, the new asylum procedure regulation. It introduces mandatory asylum border procedures for certain groups of people. In the future, asylum applications from people who are unlikely to be entitled to protection will be examined at the EU's external borders in an accelerated procedure. According to the federal government, this applies to people who have been deceptive about their identity, who pose a threat to national security or public order or who come from countries of origin with an EU-wide protection rate of 20 percent or less. Unaccompanied minors are exempt from these border procedures provided they do not pose a security risk. Minors and their families should also not be given priority in these procedures. Although Germany has no external EU land borders, corresponding procedures must be introduced at airports and seaports. Other components of the reform concern, among other things, the rules of responsibility between the Member States (successor to the Dublin III Regulation), a reform of the Eurodac database to better register asylum seekers, a new procedure for identity and security checks in the event of irregular entry, and special regulations for crisis situations with an exceptionally high burden on the asylum systems. The Adaptation Act amends or deletes numerous national regulations in order to adapt them to directly applicable EU law. In addition, responsibilities will be newly regulated and legal foundations for practical implementation will be created. The federal government emphasizes that an early adaptation of national law is necessary in order to give the federal, state and local governments planning security for the organizational implementation of the new requirements. 309 MPs voted for the so-called GEAS Adaptation Act, 260 voted against, including Carolin Wagner (SPD parliamentary group). Jan Dieren and Rasha Nasr (both SPD faction) abstained.