00:00Jens Spahn is with me. He's the deputy leader of the CDU-CSU, the Conservatives in German Parliament.
00:06You're also a former minister of the Merkel administration.
00:09Your CDU-CSU has just published their election agenda.
00:13How will Germany feel different to the world stage, to its partners, but also to people who aim to come to Germany?
00:20What we do offer Germany is a political turnaround.
00:24That we bring back the German economy to growth, competitiveness.
00:27We are the second year in a row in a recession, so we really need to change that.
00:31We want to end illegal migration to Germany with refoulement at our borders in Germany,
00:37and then to have a European solution by that.
00:41We want to get back to affordable and secure energy supply here in Germany, since we do have big problems there as well.
00:48So the offer is a real political turnaround with Friedrich Merz as a new chancellor.
00:52So a completely different direction.
00:54At the same time, you've made headlines here in Germany by instantly putting a proposal on the table
00:59to pay Syrian migrants who are willing to return €1,000.
01:04What's your intention, and what do you make of the debate here,
01:07where many experts say Germany can't afford to lose many of these people?
01:10First of all, we are very happy with many people in Syria, with the Syrian people,
01:16that this dictator, this man-slaughtering dictator Assad is gone, has been overthrown,
01:23and that there is perspective for Syria now again.
01:26You have to see Austria and Germany have taken 75% of all refugees from Syria
01:32that have come to Europe here to give protection.
01:36But of course, if there is change in Syria, there are some questions coming into mind.
01:40First of all, we want to help support those who want to go back to Syria,
01:44to building up the country again, that they get support by the government.
01:48Second, we need to stop all the programs that take Syrian refugees to Germany,
01:57since we have to wait what's going on there, how it develops.
02:00And of course, then we need to make a difference in the next weeks,
02:04when we know more about the situation in Syria.
02:06Those who are actually integrated, who pay for themselves and their families,
02:11who speak the language, who are part of our German society,
02:15they should get an offer to stay.
02:17But at the same time, those who do not need our protection anymore, they need to leave.
02:23You're also on the record for predicting that within the next 5 or 15 years,
02:29EU borders will be closed.
02:33Why? And is that actually the policy of your conservative CDU-CSU?
02:37You know, in general, we need to put an end to the message that is there in the world.
02:41Once you made it to the European Union, you can stay, almost for sure,
02:45and you get social benefits, almost for sure, from day on.
02:50And so actually, if we don't end that message,
02:54then we can't get to control over irregular migration.
02:58We will stop at our borders, with European border control implemented,
03:02with a third state solution, that we give protection in a secure third state.
03:07And at the same time, that we do have contingents for humanitarian aid,
03:12that we say, if there is a crisis somewhere in the world,
03:15we have a certain number of people that we will and do support and get over to Europe,
03:20but in a selected way, together with UNHCR,
03:24and not in a way where almost only young men come without any control over our European borders.
03:30That would have to be European policy?
03:33Do you expect that you would have a majority for that, respectively?
03:36Yes, because in Poland, in France, in Denmark, in Austria, in almost Italy,
03:41almost every European country, that is one of the biggest topics for the people,
03:46one of the biggest problems to solve.
03:49And there are initiatives right now, these days, taking place.
03:52Denmark, Austria, France are waiting for Germany actually to join them in their approach
03:59to change European law, European policies on this.
04:03Right now, Germany is just silent.
04:05So, that is one of the many reasons we do need a new government,
04:09a new chancellor to bring back leadership on this issue as well.
04:13Jens Spahn, deputy leader of the CDU-CSU parliamentary group, thank you very much.
04:17Pleasure.
