Green Party vice-chairman wants EU proceedings against Germany over border policy

Berlin – Green Party deputy chairman Sven Giegold wants the EU to punish Germany for its actions at its borders. In a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, reported on Thursday by the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Giegold calls for infringement proceedings to be opened against Germany. "As far as I can recall, no new government of a large member state has ever accepted a breach of European law with virtually its first official act," Giegold writes. As State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, he was primarily responsible for compliance with European law during the years of the traffic light coalition, and now he observes the rejections with great concern. "This jeopardizes the foundations of the European Union, which are based on the primacy of European law over national law," Giegold, who served in the European Parliament for the Greens from 2009 to 2021, wrote to von der Leyen. In particular, the blanket rejection of asylum seekers at Germany's external borders meets the criterion of non-compliance with EU law, the 55-year-old argues. "This rejection is systematic and not just in isolated cases." The EU must not apply double standards, writes the Green Party vice-president. His request to von der Leyen: "Therefore, I formally request you, as a German citizen and as a citizen of the Union, to take immediate action against the violation of European law by the Federal Republic of Germany." He himself has submitted a corresponding complaint on the EU Commission's portal.