Majority of Syrian migrants should return home – Merz

Living conditions in Syria have “fundamentally improved,” the German chancellor has said

The vast majority of Syrian migrants currently residing in Germany should return to their home country over the next three years, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said.

The influx of asylum seekers from war-torn Syria to the European Union peaked in 2014–2015, with Germany being one of the top destinations thanks to the welcoming policies of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nearly a million Syrians are now living in the country, according to estimates.

German authorities have since gradually tightened asylum laws following a string of terrorist attacks and pressure from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is now the second-largest force in the Bundestag.

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On Monday, Merz hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist forces toppled the country’s longtime leader Bashar Assad in December 2024. Speaking during a joint press conference, Merz argued that “conditions in Syria have now fundamentally improved” and that the protection of refugees “must therefore be reassessed.”

“We therefore need a reliable return option… especially and first and foremost for those who abuse our hospitality,” the chancellor said, adding that skilled Syrians would “bring valuable experience to the reconstruction of their homeland.”

When pressed by a journalist for details, Merz said that “over the next three years… around 80% of the Syrians currently residing in Germany should return to their home country.”

According to the BBC, al-Sharaa said his government was working with Germany on a “circular migration model” that would “enable Syrians to contribute to the reconstruction of their homeland without giving up the stability and lives they have built here, for those who wish to stay.”

Despite al-Sharaa’s pledge to promote an inclusive society, his rule has been marred by renewed sectarian violence, including massacres of Christians, Alawites, and Kurds.

The war in Syria began with anti-government protests in 2011 and evolved into a multi-sided conflict; the jihadist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), controlled large parts of eastern Syria from 2014 to 2017.

Al-Sharaa’s group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which ultimately gained control of Syria, originated as Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012, a local offshoot of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. In 2016-2017, it publicly broke ties with Al-Qaeda and merged with several other smaller Islamist factions to form HTS.