Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Brandenburg Interior Minister Katrin Lange signed an agreement in Potsdam on Monday to establish a new migrant center in Eisenhüttenstadt. The facility is intended for individuals who, under European Union rules, should apply for asylum in other EU countries—in many cases, Poland.
“We need to return people more swiftly if they come to Germany but should undergo asylum procedures elsewhere in the EU,” said Minister Faeser. She explained that the migrants in the new center would be limited to basic provisions—“bed, bread, and soap”—to discourage repeated attempts to enter Germany. The transfers to Poland, where many of them are expected to lodge their asylum applications, should not exceed two weeks.
According to a press release from Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior, the new facility in Eisenhüttenstadt will closely cooperate with Polish authorities to expedite the process. “We have good dialogue with Poland,” Faeser emphasized.
Eisenhüttenstadt, already home to a long-standing refugee shelter, will repurpose two buildings with 250 spaces specifically for migrants subject to the Dublin Regulation. Unlike other centers, these individuals will not be relocated further into Germany to await asylum decisions. Instead, they will remain on site, which is surrounded by fencing, and must register each departure and return.
This center will be the second of its kind in Germany—after one in Hamburg—and comes as migration policy takes center stage ahead of Germany’s parliamentary elections on February 23. The opposition has criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government for what they call a lack of effective measures to address illegal immigration.
Last year, the German authorities asked other EU countries to accept 74,000 migrants under the Dublin rules, with 44,000 receiving approval. However, only about 6,000 were actually transferred. The German government plans to open similar “Dublin centers” in all 16 federal states as part of a broader effort to streamline asylum procedures and reduce unauthorized migration.