German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his government’s migration policy in a speech to parliament on Wednesday morning, stressing the need for the country to attract skilled foreigners.
“There is no country in the world with a shrinking working population that is experiencing economic growth. That is the truth we are facing,” Scholz said in the Bundestag, as the German parliament is called.
His comments come amid a tense, bitter debate in Berlin over migration and asylum policy, after cross-party talks between Scholz’s coalition and the centre-right opposition collapsed on Tuesday night, drawing bitter criticism.
Migration policy has been the main topic of political debate since a knife-wielding attacker killed three people and wounded eight others in the western German city of Solingen last month.
The suspected attacker is a 26-year-old Syrian man who had evaded a deportation order from Germany to Bulgaria, where he was previously registered in the European Union.
Scholz on Wednesday stressed the need to remain open for immigration in Germany, but at the same time properly manage and control the arrival of migrants.
“We are a country that offers protection to those who are politically persecuted, who are running for their lives, who need to save their lives. That is in our constitution and we are not going to discuss it,” Scholz said.
“Openness to the world is therefore necessary. But openness to the world does not mean that everyone who wants to can come. We must be able to choose who comes to Germany. I say that very explicitly here,” the Chancellor added.