Friedrich Merz stated after a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa that “in the perspective of the next three years, around 80% of Syrians currently residing in Germany should return to their homeland.” He thus expressed support for accelerating the repatriation of more than 950,000 Syrians, who mainly arrived during the 2015–2016 refugee crisis.
Priority would be given to individuals without valid residence permits and the “problematic group of Syrians with criminal records.” Germany is set to invest over 200 million euros this year in the reconstruction of Syria. However, on Tuesday, Merz clarified his statement about the return of 80% of Syrians, saying that the figure originated from the Syrian president.
Is it legally and practically feasible to repatriate so many people within a short period? Over three years, this would require 730 people to return every day. Around 250,000 Syrians currently hold German citizenship, while 70,000 have permanent residence permits. Voluntarily, despite financial support from Germany, only about 3,600 Syrians returned in one year.
Al-Sharaa expressed “deep gratitude” to “the German government and the German people, who opened their doors to more than one million Syrians, providing them with safety here – and the opportunity to rebuild their shattered lives.” He also expressed hope that German companies would bring expertise to Syria and called for investment and partnerships.
Reactions to the return proposal have been mixed: the SPD warned that expectations for returns would not be met; The Left Party said this “fuels AfD’s fantasies of mass deportation”; while the right-wing populist AfD criticized the figure as “too late.”
Representatives of the German medical community warned of shortages in healthcare: Syrians are the largest group of foreign doctors in German hospitals, with over 5,700 physicians.
Syrian lawyer Nahla Osman told DW that the statement provokes despair and anger, and appears “more like a domestic political signal, in the context of the rise of AfD, than a feasible strategy.” /DW Albanian
