A draft resolution by Bavaria’s conservative CSU party calls for a “major deportation offensive” in 2026, including scheduled flights to Syria and Afghanistan, according to reports on Friday.
The Christian Social Union (CSU) – a conservative political party based in Bavaria and a key player in Germany’s federal parliament – is advocating for a significant tightening of the country’s migration policies.
According to a draft resolution prepared for the CSU regional group’s upcoming closed-door meeting in the Bundestag, the party is calling for several major changes, as reported by the Münchner Merkur newspaper on Friday.
One of the central proposals is the rapid return of most Syrian refugees to their country of origin. The draft resolution calls for a “major deportation offensive” in 2026, including scheduled flights to Syria and Afghanistan.
The CSU argues that the civil war in Syria has ended, the country is now undergoing reconstruction and Germany is supporting this process. As a result, the party claims that most Syrians who were granted temporary residence in Germany due to the war no longer have grounds for protection and are needed back in their homeland.
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For those who do not leave voluntarily, the CSU insists that repatriation should be initiated as quickly as possible. The group also emphasises that criminals should be deported as a priority. Furthermore, the draft states that any refugee who takes a vacation in their home country should “automatically lose their protection status in the future, because such actions contradict their claimed need for protection.”
The CSU is also urging a tougher approach toward Ukrainian refugees, particularly men who are fit for military service. The party insists that these individuals should contribute to the defence of Ukraine.
Another key demand is that all asylum seekers, regardless of their country of origin, should be required to use their personal assets to help cover the costs of their stay in Germany. This measure would at least apply to Ukrainians who have arrived since April 2025 and are covered by the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
Addressing the issue of so-called “poverty migration,” the CSU is calling for stricter rules to prevent abuse of the German social welfare system. The party wants the federal government to further raise the barriers to migration into the social welfare system.
Currently, EU citizens are entitled to freedom of movement within the Union if they work at least 5.5 hours per week. The CSU proposes to narrow the definition of “worker” under the EU Freedom of Movement Directive, aiming to ensure that only those engaged in genuine employment – not those seeking social benefits – qualify.
CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann explained to the newspaper, “Labor migration to Germany must not be poverty migration. To this end, we want to tighten the definition of ‘worker’ in the EU Free Movement Directive so that the regulation reflects genuine gainful employment but excludes social benefit receipt.”
Hoffmann also spoke of “mafia-controlled migration flows to Germany” and “gang-related benefit fraud” that must be stopped.
