The German government has denied a media report claiming that the newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz had declared a state of national emergency in a bid to ramp up border controls.
A spokesperson for the government cleared the rumours on Thursday, assuring the public that the special Brussels clause, Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, has not been triggered.
"The chancellor is not declaring a national emergency," said Stefan Kornelius, speaking to local media.
Earlier on Thursday, German media outlet, Die Welt, reported that the new federal government is planning to invoke the EU clause. If passed, national law would apply to border protection and internal security with immediate effect.
This would trigger extensive tightening of border controls, as well as result in the rejection of asylum applications.
It would also be the first time Germany, an EU founding member, attempted to suspend the bloc's law. However, Brussels would first have to decide on whether or not to approve the request.
The same clause was invoked by Italy in 2023 to tackle what the government called an alarming immigration crisis.
An allen deutschen Grenzen sollen Bundespolizisten mehr Menschen, die illegal nach Deutschland einreisen z.B. ohne gültige Papiere, zurückweisen können. AP Photo
The report also claimed that ambassadors of countries neighbouring Germany were briefed by the Interior Ministry on the matter, but it wasn't made clear on when the national emergency will begin.
Separately, German officials told Euronews that Merz wants to declare a national emergency to step up the increased deportations of people attempting to enter Germany illegally via a safe EU country.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he had instructed federal police to tighten border controls with the aim of turning back more irregular migrants, including those who intended to seek asylum.
“We will control the borders more strictly…will also lead to a higher number of rejections,” Dobrindt said less than a day after being sworn into office.
However, Dobrindt said that vulnerable people, including children and pregnant women, would not be turned away at the border.
Those plans attracted criticism from both Poland and Austria, and their legality has been questioned by some experts.
Situlacrum on May 9th, 2025 at 04:06 UTC »
This news got old. The state of emergency hasn't actually been declared.
Remarkable-Medium275 on May 9th, 2025 at 02:15 UTC »
Merkel and her consequences was a disaster for Germany with her foreign policy. From how she coddled up to Putin which led to them funding Russia's military remilitarizing, to thinking that she would *never* get blowback from her conservative base by allowing mass migration for cheap slave-like labor.
I don't think this will actually fix Germany's AFD problem because fixing political alienation is not something that is undone in a day or in one act. I commend him for actually trying to neuter the far right by actually trying to court his voter base, but time will tell if he can actually succeed and fix Merkel's messes.
The goal with dealing with political radicals or partisans is to actually fix the problems within your own party that has alienated the electorate, that isn't the same as allying or submitting to their demands of political extremists, but you can't just cover your ears and hope it just goes away.
Good-Wave-5466 on May 8th, 2025 at 22:48 UTC »
At the end of the day, you’ve got to give Merz his props—he’s doing what a lot of politicians in Europe wish they could: taking decisive action on migration without waiting for Brussels to sort itself out. Legally, he’s not inventing anything—he’s reactivating a German law that’s been on the books for decades but was politically sidelined since Merkel’s time. And politically, he’s trying to neuter the AfD, which has surged past 20%, by proving the center-right can control borders and still govern competently.
But let’s be real—this is also deeply hypocritical if you take Germany at its word post-WWII and especially post-2015. For decades, they positioned themselves as the EU’s conscience on human rights, asylum protections, and multilateralism. Merkel let in over a million refugees and stood by it with “We’ll manage this.” Germany helped write the EU asylum rules that say you can’t just turn people away at the border.
Now Merz is basically saying, “We’re declaring an emergency—rules don’t apply.” That’s a hard pivot—from being the EU’s moral compass to now operating in legal gray zones and invoking national security to sidestep shared commitments.
It’s a philosophical 180. And yeah, it reflects broader European fatigue on migration—but coming from Germany, it hits different. Especially when they’ve spent years lecturing Hungary, Italy, and others for doing this exact thing.
So yeah, give Merz credit for acting—but don’t pretend this isn’t a major break from what “German leadership” used to mean. It’s rule-of-law when convenient, sovereignty when it’s not. Classic case of leading with values—until values become politically expensive.