Sputnik: Migration has been a hot topic in German politics, particularly within Angela Merkel's parliamentary party, what consequences do you think this decision can have a German politics?
Dr. Jochen Staadt: We have the discussion going on for three years now, this issue will have further problems with this new decision. The conservative minister of interior already pointed out that the 10,000 new refugees coming to Germany are part of the figure that the government decided to have for every year, that is about 200,000 that can come to Germany.
Sputnik: And how did the public react to Mrs. Merkel's decision?
Dr. Jochen Staadt: We have now the controversy that's going on, you have the right-wing party that is criticizing the refugee policy of the government of Mrs. Merkel for years and they had success with their position in the last elections so they will continue that. But in the other parties, this decision is widely accepted, because it's a step of a promised new policy to have legal immigration and find ways to stop illegal immigration into Germany.
Sputnik: Mrs. Merkel‘s acceptance of 10,000 refugees has already triggered an angry response from the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) and after the general election, we've interviewed many experts who said that the reason why German voters supported the party is because they were dissatisfied with Mrs. Merkel's open door policy, so do you think this move can increase AfD's influence in the country and its supporters base?
Sputnik: The German chancellor has always said that she was supporting the move in an effort to substitute illegal migration with legal opportunities, what's your take on that?
Dr. Jochen Staadt: This is a signal that the Chancellor now gave and it's also the same signal as the French president already gave: France also accepted 10,000 refugees by the UN refugee organization. So Germany followed that step, and I think it should be seen as a signal for the countries which resist the European plan of accepting immigration of war refugees, mainly the Eastern European countries that strongly resist this European plan, and Mrs.
READ MORE: 'Islam Doesn't Belong to Germany' Remark Sparks Debate Over Migrant Crisis in EU
Merkel is now giving a signal that we do it in a legal way, it's a possibility to stop illegal immigration. I personally think it will be hard to stop immigration with this step because people try to come to Central Europe, they will continue to try that and the only way to stop the immigration would be to close the borders or to you have more possibilities to see who is coming over the borders.
Sputnik: Do you agree with experts who say that Europe actually needs migrants because of the aging population and because of the falling birth rates, what are your thoughts on that?
Dr. Jochen Staadt: For Germany this is right but this problem cannot be solved by the illegal immigration we have now, because as we see 80% of the people that came in the last years are supported by the state, they have no jobs, they have not integrated into society, they were not trained or educator for these jobs where people are needed in Germany; so the public discussion suggested many times that we should have rules for migration into Germany where it is decided who can come and who is needed, and this problem is still open, it's not solved.
Sputnik: The head of the UN World Food Program said that Daesh has been attempting to form a new wave of migrants from Africa into Europe, what impact can this have on the European Union?
Dr. Jochen Staadt: If that would be true we would have more problems as we had by the attacks in the last years. This would again make right-wing movements and right-wing parties stronger, because they are those who oppose the migration policy, all other parties more or less agree with the migration policy of the government.
The views and opinions expressed by Dr. Jochen Staadt are those of the expert and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
