GERMANY’S CURRENT MIGRATION POLICY: ANALYSIS OF APPROACHES TO REFUGEES IN TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES
Authors:   Mariupol State University, Balabanov K. , Bezzubchenko Y. ,   Mariupol State University
Published: August 2024

The article examines the main principles of the refugee migration policy of the Federal Republic of Germany, highlights the main migration laws and documents regulating migration flows. Aid to refugees from the countries of North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia in 2015 and Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Germany due to the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation are compared. On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering another war in Europe and leading to a significant humanitarian crisis with over three million Ukrainian refugees. This part of the article explores whether refugees from Ukraine are perceived differently compared to those from other countries. Notably, while the 2015 refugee influx into Germany primarily consisted of young men from the Middle East, the current situation involves mostly women, children, and elderly people from Ukraine. This shift has led to different public and political responses in Germany. Furthermore, the article discusses why Ukrainian refugees have received better conditions compared to the 2015 scenario, highlighting factors like political dimensions, Ukraine's orientation towards Western democracy, geographical proximity invoking a sense of shared fate, and the cultural closeness reflected in the European character of Ukrainian cities. The article also studies the legal mechanisms affecting refugee reception, particularly the “Mass Influx Directive” enacted in 2001 following the displacement during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. This directive offers a bureaucracy-free method of accepting refugees outside the usual asylum procedure but requires a decision from the EU for its activation. Notably, in 2015, this directive was not applied to Syrian refugees. Instead, Germany unilaterally decided to accept large numbers of Syrian refugees on September 4, 2015. Contrastingly, in 2022, the EU nations collectively decided to activate this directive for Ukrainian refugees soon after the Russian invasion. This directive, triggered in situations like war or persecution impacting large population groups, allows for a bypass of the standard asylum procedure, granting Ukrainian refugees direct protection within the EU without the need for thorough application scrutiny and additional burdens. The conclusion of the article synthesizes the observations on the complexities and dynamics of migration processes in the contemporary world, with a focus on Germany's role as a key player in shaping European migration policy. The analysis of Germany’s approaches to refugees from various regions, especially in the context of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine in 2022, highlights differences in attitudes and methods of assistance. It was established that key German migration laws and documents reflect the dynamic and adaptive nature of state policy, responding to global challenges and changes. The assistance provided to Ukrainian refugees underscores Germany's particular approach towards this group, considering their situation induced by military actions. The primary conclusion is that recipient countries' migration policies are not static; they adapt to external challenges and internal needs. The situation with Ukrainian refugees has been another significant test for the German migration system, where humanitarian commitments intersect with political realities. Germany's efforts in this domain should be considered in formulating international policy aimed at supporting stability and cooperation in Europe. Key words: migration policy, Germany, refugees from the Middle East, Ukrainian refugees, migration space, migrants, cooperation, visa regime, illegal migration.