Germany pauses UN refugee admission program amid coalition talks

BERLIN

Germany has suspended its refugee admissions under a UN resettlement program, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

“Due to the ongoing coalition negotiations, no new commitments to the resettlement program will be made,” an Interior Ministry spokesman told Anadolu.

“We will only process cases that are at an advanced stage and where firm commitments have already been made,” he said, noting that the incoming coalition government will make a final decision on the program.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) are continuing negotiations this week to form a new government following the February 23 parliamentary elections.

The incoming government is expected to halt voluntary refugee admission programs, since the Christian Democrats are advocating both a significant shift in refugee policy and stricter measures to curb irregular migration.

Since 2012, Berlin has participated in resettlement programs where the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) selects refugees with specific protection needs for relocation to Germany from transit countries or conflict regions.

The program has maintained limited admissions, accepting only a few thousand refugees annually. For 2025, Germany had pledged to admit 6,500 refugees through the resettlement and humanitarian admission program.