German Leaders Agree on New Migration Pact

“We can do this!” That was former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s response to the 2015 migrant crisis. It made Germany the destination of choice for Middle Eastern migrants entering Europe.

It also overturned German politics and led to the rise of the far right in modern Germany.

Now, even the left in Germany has made a 180-degree turn.

Germany’s government and leaders of individual states agreed to a migration pact on November 7; this decision makes Germany less welcoming. “Our shared goal is to push back irregular migration,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The government will be slower in handing out taxpayers’ money to migrants, giving them approximately €1 billion less each year. The government decision will also make it easier to deport gang members and search migrant homes in order to establish their identities.

Friedrich Merz, leader of Angela Merkel’s own Christian Democratic Union, pulled out of the talks. For him they don’t go far enough. His party wants migrants to be deported out of the European Union and for their asylum claims to be processed elsewhere. The United Kingdom is trying a similar policy, but it has been held up in constant court cases.

Italy announced a deal with Albania to do the same thing. Migrants rescued in the Mediterranean will no longer come to Italy—they’ll go to Albania. If their asylum applications are approved, they can be admitted to the EU later on. If they’re denied, it’s much easier to deport them because they’re already outside of Italy.

There will be legal challenges—but the point is Europe has made a complete change since Merkel. The personality of the EU is changing before your eyes.

The soft, lefty, migrant-welcoming EU that existed before simply was not sustainable. It’s changing because it has to. But what is it changing into?

We’ve long forecast this change in Europe. We’re going to see something much more authoritarian, based around strongman-type leadership.

Initially it may look like a big improvement over the current EU. But it’s going to go far to the other extreme. Bible prophecy describes a new empire rising in Europe, led by a church, that launches a new crusade. To understand where this is leading, read our Trends article “Why the Trumpet Watches the Rise of a German Strongman.”