In the wake of new EU laws paving the way for fast-track deportations of rejected asylum seekers, Germany is trumpeting its own policy of encouraging voluntary repatriation of Syrians back to their homeland. 

On Tuesday, the European Parliament approved changes to the Asylum Procedures Regulation to introduce a list of countries deemed "safe" to which failed asylum seekers could be returned. 

Under the new rules, EU countries may reject an asylum application if the person could have received protection in a country the bloc considers safe.

Germany is also examining ways of persuading migrants already in the country to leave.

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) says its scheme to use "targeted support" to help Syrians return is making a difference to migration numbers.

In a news release this week, the BAMF revealed that 5,976 Syrians had applied for voluntary repatriation to Syria last year, of whom 3,678 had already returned to their war-torn homeland.

The BAMF wrote: "A total of 16,576 people have been helped to return to their country of origin or a third country willing to accept them. This represents a significant increase in the number of departures compared to the previous year, when 10,358 people left the country. 

"In 2025, the majority of voluntary departures were to the countries of origin - Türkiye, Syria, Russia, Georgia and Iraq."

The "targeted support" offered by the BAMF scheme includes the cost of flights home and €1,000 ($,1200) per adult and €500 ($600) for children. 

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the numbers leaving showed the scheme was working, adding "those who have no prospect of staying receive targeted support for their voluntary repatriation."

Rhetoric

Anti-immigration rhetoric has surged throughout the EU in recent years. The hardening of attitudes is perhaps seen greatest in Germany. In 2015, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the momentous decision to allow more than a million people, mainly from Syria, into Germany via the Mediterranean.

The long-term fallout from this decision has arguably led to the spread of anti-migrant sentiment which has boosted public support for right-wing nationalist parties, like Alternative for Germany (AfD). It's also seen the German government adopt increasingly restrictive migration policies focused on returns.

Not everyone on the political spectrum in Germany approves of the repatriation policy, with the Left Party, along with aid groups, particularly vocal in its criticism. 

Nahla Osman, vice president of the Association of German-Syrian Aid Organizations (VDSH), visited Syria recently. She told Deutsche Welle: "In Harasta, a suburb of Damascus, there is not a single house that is habitable or meets the minimum standards for living in. 

"More than 80 percent of schools in Syria have been destroyed. And at the same time there is a real shortage of everything, especially medicine and medical equipment."

Osman added that the debate around Syrians had become too binary in Germany. "Most Syrians are integrated here, they speak German and work. "Many do dream of going back, but not under the current conditions of course."