The text proposed by the CDU/CSU and SPD is convinced that the pact should help international cooperation and migration management. At the same time, however, it stresses that the document is non-binding. The V4 states, Austria and Australia, have rejected the pact.
372 lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution, 153 voted against it, and 141 abstained from voting. The text highlights cooperation and consensus of the “vast majority of states” within the United Nations on common goals regarding migration.
German MPs expressed a belief that the document is in the interest of Germany and can help reduce the migratory pressure on Europe. Still, according to the Germans, individual states have to decide on their migration policy independently.
“Germany carries much more responsibility in migration than other countries, even in the European Union. We want to improve this – among other things, through a fairer distribution of refugees “.
By this, the German lawmakers seem to emphasize the fact that the Visegrad states in the EU have long been opposed to the redistribution of refugees under mandatory quotas.
However, differences in the view of these countries and Germany on migration policy also appear in other areas, including the UN migration pact. Every V4 country rejected it. Austria and Australia are also against the pact.
On the German political scene, all the parliamentary parties supported the pact, except the oppositional anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AFD). However, members of other parties voted on Thursday against the pact, too.
Especially in the conservative union CDU/CSU, the agreement has been repeatedly debated in recent weeks. That is why these parties came along with the Social Democrats (SPD) with a resolution to highlight their attitude.
