The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has announced its opposition to the severe funding cuts planned by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) concerning independent asylum counseling in Germany. Sebastian Fiedler, the SPD faction’s spokesman for domestic policy, told the “Welt” that limiting authorities-independent asylum procedures would contradict the coalition agreement, and therefore, it would not proceed as planned.
Clara Bünger, the Deputy Co-Chair of the Left Party faction in the Bundestag, offered harsh criticism of Dobrindt’s plan. She argued that the legal framework of the Asylum Act mandates the provision of authorities-independent consultation using federal funds. Bünger accused the Interior Minister of attempting to disregard the law, adding that identifying and advising particularly vulnerable people was part of this statutory duty. She stressed that the law contains no provisions allowing the counseling services to be restricted to a specific group of people and insisted that the drastic reduction in funding must be reversed.
Filiz Polat, the Green Party politician focusing on migration, also criticized the plan. Polat stated that well-informed refugees contribute to better asylum decisions, regardless of whether their application is approved or rejected. She noted that this leads to greater fairness, fewer appeals, and faster procedures. Furthermore, she asserted that the trust necessary for this level of advice is far more likely to develop within an independent and protected counseling relationship than when that advice comes directly from the deciding authority. A report commissioned by her colleague Erik Marquardt confirmed that European law requires independent legal consultation alongside the information provided by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
In contrast, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, through its domestic policy spokesman Alexander Throm, expressed a positive view. He stated that focusing the authorities-independent asylum procedures on particularly vulnerable persons is justifiable, especially considering the new guidance provided by the BAMF. Throm affirmed that the goal should be to enable effective and comprehensible counseling overall, one that also recognizes special advisory needs, expressing complete confidence in the BAMF’s capability to achieve this.
