Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated after meeting Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Scharaa that 80 percent of over 900,000 Syrians in Germany should return home within the next three years. The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from SPD, Greens, and the German Hospital Society. Experts deem the target unrealistic.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) met Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Scharaa at the Chancellery on Monday. During the subsequent meeting, Merz set a target for 80 percent of over 900,000 Syrians in Germany to return home within the next three years. Al-Scharaa desires this, Merz emphasized, adding that Syria's civil war is over and return prospects exist.
Deputy SPD chair Anke Rehlinger criticized the specific figure as unwise. «It is not a smart idea of the chancellor to put concrete numbers in concrete timeframes into the room, because that creates expectations he may not be able to meet,» she told Funke Mediengruppe newspapers. Many Syrians are integrated, work in shortage occupations, and often hold German citizenship.
The German Hospital Society warned of impacts on the healthcare system. Deputy chair Henriette Neumeyer noted that 5,745 Syrian doctors worked in German hospitals by end-2024 – the largest group of foreign doctors. Over 2,000 Syrian nursing staff are also vital; forced returns would noticeably affect care provision.
Greens politician Luise Amtsberg called Merz's appearance «embarrassing» and accused him of unsettling hundreds of thousands of German-Syrians. Colleague Franziska Brantner labeled the quota «adventurous» given Syria's fragile situation. Migration researcher Daniel Thym dismissed an 80 percent return as illusory, with only a few thousand having returned voluntarily and legal hurdles remaining.
Besides repatriation, Merz discussed aid for Syria's reconstruction. A government delegation will soon travel to Damascus, with GIZ and KfW opening branches.
