Domestic politician Julian Pahlke of the Greens has caused a stir with a new demand: Federal Interior Minister Nancy Feser (SPD) should use the federal police to rescue migrants from the Mediterranean. Pahlke emphasized that “this humanitarian rescue mission is necessary until a European maritime rescue mission is established”. And he added that “the Federal Police has suitable vessels for such operations”.
“With all the calls for order in migration policy, humanity must be protected first of all,” stressed Pahlke, who herself participated in rescue operations by private organizations in the Mediterranean.
The politician referred to the coalition deal agreed by the SPD, the Greens and the FDP from the autumn of 2021. It states: “There is a civilizational and legal obligation not to let people drown.” It was also agreed that “state-coordinated and European-sponsored maritime defenses have been called for in the Mediterranean”.
According to Pahlke, many people have already died in boating accidents in 2023, so this matter is extremely important. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 120,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by boat in Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus so far in 2023. According to estimates, 2,078 people died from the beginning of the year till the end of July.
