Germany announced that it would stop providing financial support to charities that carry out sea rescue missions for refugees in the Mediterranean, arguing that it would redirect resources to improve the source problems that prompt people to flee their countries.
According to Reuters, for decades, migrants displaced by war and poverty have been risking crossing the Mediterranean to try to reach Europe’s southern border. Although thousands of people die on the way every year, Europe is increasingly hostile to immigrants.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said at a press conference: “Germany adheres to a humanitarian stance and will provide assistance where people are suffering, but I don’t think it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fund such sea rescues.”
He added: “We need to act where help is most needed.” He mentioned that war-torn Sudan is facing a serious humanitarian crisis.
During the previous left-wing government, Germany provided about 2 million euros (about 2.34 million US dollars) each year to non-governmental organizations to support them in rescuing refugee boats in distress at sea.
This funding is crucial for rescue organizations. Germany’s Sea-Eye says it has saved about 175,000 lives since 2015, with about 10% of its 3.2 million euros in revenue coming from the German government.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party won a national election in February on one of its campaign promises: curbing illegal immigration. Although the total number of immigrants in Germany has fallen year by year in recent years, many Germans still see immigration as the root cause of the rapid rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is now the second largest party in parliament.
Many experts point out that the immigration wave is mainly due to economic and humanitarian crises in the countries of origin, and the “cold” attitude of the destination countries has not effectively stopped the pace of immigrants.
Nevertheless, German officials believe that sea rescue operations have encouraged more people to take risks and make dangerous cross-sea journeys.
“(Government) funding has enabled us to increase our number of missions and has literally saved lives,” said Gorden Isler, head of Sea-Eye. “Now we may have to stay in port even in an emergency.”
The opposition Green Party criticized the decision. The party was in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the previous government and pushed for the establishment of the funding mechanism.
Britta Hasselmann, leader of the Green Party parliamentary coalition, said: “This decision will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and deepen human suffering.”
