Germany updates: Dobrindt talks migration with EU ministers

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07/18/2025July 18, 2025

German Interior Minister Dobrindt is hosting colleagues for a mountaintop summit on harsher migration policy across the EU. The meeting comes as Germany deports dozens of Afghans. Stay with DW for the latest.

https://p.dw.com/p/4xe09

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt speaking to the pressInterior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has made migration one of the top issues of his term [FILE: July 1, 2025]Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance
Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is hosting colleagues from across the EU for a summit at the country's Zugspitz mountaintop.

Dobrindt is pushing for tougher EU migration policy.

Berlin on Friday morning deported some 81 Afghans, the second such flight since the Taliban returned to power.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz will give his first summer press conference since taking office.

Here's a roundup of the latest news, backgrounders and analysis from and about Germany on Friday July 18, 2025:

Skip next section Merz to hold first summer press conference

07/18/2025July 18, 2025

Merz to hold first summer press conference

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a press conference about domestic and foreign policy issues at the House of the 'Bundespressekonferenz' in Berlin, Germany July 18, 2025German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing growing unpopularity less than six months into his termImage: Liesa Johannssen/REUTERS

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday morning will hold his first summer press conference since taking the oath of office in May. 

The annual event, which usually begins with a statement by the chancellor followed by journalists' questions, can last hours and is typically a chancellor's last appearance before heading into summer vacation.

Merz is expected to field questions on the recent postponement of appointments to Germany's Constitutional Court in parliament, the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing tariff spat with the US.

https://p.dw.com/p/4xe2G

Skip next section Dobrindt hosts Zugspitz migration summit

07/18/2025July 18, 2025

Dobrindt hosts Zugspitz migration summit

A view of ZugspitzeZugspitze, located in southern Bavaria, is Germany's highest mountainImage: R. Goldmann/picture alliance

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Friday will host several EU colleagues for a discussion on tightening migration policy in the bloc.

The meeting, which will take place at the top of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, will be attended by the interior ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France and Poland, as well as by EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. 

The ministers are scheduled to discuss deportations to third-countries as well as plans to shift asylum application processes there, fighting human trafficking, and the security of EU exterior borders. 

Dobrindt has said he aims to release a so-called "Zugspitze declaration" at the meeting's end.

Critics have dubbed the meeting the "isolation summit." 

https://p.dw.com/p/4xe2B

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

07/18/2025July 18, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Tag and welcome to our coverage from DW's newsroom in Bonn.

Today, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold his first summer press conference, while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt hosts EU colleagues to discuss migration policy, and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul heads to Paris for talks on Franco-German ties and other international issues. 

This will all take place as Germany carries out its second deportation flight of Afghans since the Taliban returned to power.

Stay here with us for this and other news from Germany.

https://p.dw.com/p/4xe0A

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