Time for Syrians to go home?

With Syria’s war formally over, Friedrich Merz says repatriation can begin. Yet a fragile coalition and an economy reliant on migrant labour make deportations politically combustible.

Photo by Mahmoud Sulaiman on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

It is often forgotten that when Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders at the height of Syria’s civil war, she also set a deadline for when the Syrians who arrived would be expected to leave.

Speaking in early 2016, Merkel said: “We expect that once peace returns to Syria and ISIS is defeated in Iraq, you …