From our perspective, forced displacement and migration are part of human history. For refugees, displacement always represents a personal catastrophe, and the affected societies often face great challenges. It is the task of politics to offer protection and opportunities for an independent life in dignity to the refugees.

On the other hand, it is undisputed that safe, orderly and regular migration can offer great benefits to all parties involved – migrants, sending and receiving countries. In principle, politics can influence all forms of movement and their economic and social consequences, but in some cases the possibilities for control and intervention are limited.

We stand for a migration and asylum policy which

• understands human rights, especially women’s and children’s rights, and the rule of law as an indispensable part of any solution;
• takes into account the requirements of international and European law in order to organise migratory movements in a safe and orderly manner;
• combines needs-based and fair labour migration with effective integration policies;
• considers the granting of protection to persecuted persons as a national and European duty;
• creates optimal conditions for refugees to return in safety and dignity;
• recognises that good policy requires functioning regional and international migration cooperation in partnership;
• is legally, ethically, politically and socially feasible, especially if it is politically well coordinated and systematically involves the socially relevant actors, especially civil society and the private sector;
• is not only geared to short-term problem solving, but also to medium- and longer-term impact.