After years of preparation, one of the most significant reforms to asylum law in Germany and the entire EU is taking effect this Friday. The new “Common European Asylum System” (CEAS) will require asylum seekers to undergo mandatory preliminary checks at the EU’s external borders, in order to speed up procedures for people arriving from countries with low rates of acceptance of asylum applications.
This means that asylum seekers from countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Turkey and Nigeria will be subjected to fast-track border procedures in camps that are largely closed. According to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, less than 20% of asylum seekers from these and dozens of other countries have recognized asylum rights.
Gerald Knauss, an immigration expert and founder of the think tank “European Stability Initiative” (ESI), is skeptical that it will work. Knaus says it would still be difficult to deport people to their home countries, as rejected asylum seekers would likely move to another EU country. “In fact, it has always been the case that the countries where asylum seekers arrive first have been responsible for processing their applications. It’s not working that way now. Why should it work now?” he asked.
Who goes through ‘border procedures’?
According to the European Commission, the largest group of asylum seekers in 2025 came from Afghanistan and Syria. The asylum recognition rate for people from these two countries is over 20%. As a result, individuals from these countries do not go through border procedures but rather regular asylum procedures. And the responsibility for these processes also lies with the countries of first entry.
Knaus points out that although Germany and Austria are not on the EU’s external border, more than half of all successful asylum applications in the EU during the last 10 years were granted in these countries.
Knaus believes this will remain unchanged and that the numbers will be influenced more by developments in asylum seekers’ countries of origin than by EU law. “If the fall of the Assad regime stops the flow of Syrians entering the EU, the number of asylum applications in Germany and Austria will also drop dramatically. This has nothing to do with the interior minister, nor does it have to do with CEAS, nor does it have anything to do with border control,” he told DW. The number of people leaving the country has been falling rapidly since the change of regime in Syria in late 2024.
Will Germany deport more people?
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt believes the new CEAS rules will make it easier for Germany to transfer asylum seekers to the country where they first entered the EU. To reduce the burden on these countries, the CEAS provides that other EU member states must show “mandatory solidarity” by taking over the processing of asylum seekers’ cases.
It is unclear how this will work in practice, but the European Commission is tasked with coordinating the process. Poland and Hungary have previously refused to participate on principle. Meanwhile, Germany does not intend to accept any asylum seekers this year because it is overburdened, its interior ministry said.
To facilitate the return of asylum seekers from Germany to EU member states, the federal government plans to set up “return centres” in the German states. However, at the moment, there are only two such centres, one in Hamburg and one in Eisenhuttenstadt.
According to an agreement between EU member states and the European Parliament, it should also at some point be possible to deport unsuccessful asylum seekers from the EU to third countries. There are centers called “return hubs” to be set up for this purpose, but at the moment, these exist only on paper.
Dobrindt has announced that interested partner countries will be identified by the end of the year. When the minister was asked about the construction of return hubs, he replied, “It will be a tough task that we will have to crack.”
EU calls on Germany to end border controls
The number of first-time asylum applications in Europe and Germany has been falling significantly for the past two years – Interior Minister Dobrindt attributes this to extensive border controls implemented by Germany and nine other EU member states.
But the European Commission has called on Germany to gradually end these controls as the new Common European Asylum System (CEAS) comes into force. However, speaking to DW, Dobrindt said, “I have also made it clear how important it is to continue border controls so that we do not send the wrong signal to the world. We have successfully dealt with illegal migration, but we must continue to do so to ensure that we do not end up in a situation where we are overwhelmed again.”
German bureaucracy under fire
For Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), asylum reform in the EU meant a huge task. This was made clear by Volker Maulen, head of the CEAS project group at the Federal Office in February. Data processing and workflow had to be brought into line with more complex legislation, and many staff required training.
The European Commission in Brussels said in a recent report that Germany still does not meet CEAS requirements in some areas, nor do many others, including countries like Greece and Italy, where many asylum seekers arrive in the first place.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, citing his agency’s report, said the launch of the CEAS reform on 12 June was the beginning of the journey, not the end. “Not everything will be perfect in the beginning,” he said.
This article was originally written in German.