FAKE NEWS: Germany will relocate migrants to Moldova

Maia Sandu and Olaf Scholz are preparing an agreement based on which migrants from Germany would be relocated to Moldova before being deported, according to a false narrative that emerged in the context of Scholz's visit to Chișinău.

NEWS: Scholz's brief visit to Moldova appeared to have been made out of obligation, and it remained fruitless. The top issue on the agenda, as expected, was migration and its various interpretations.

[...] At the press briefing, Scholz spoke about the preparation of a migration treaty that would allow the deportation of Moldovans, while Sandu referred to a treaty for the recruitment of Moldovans to work in Germany. Both are migration-related issues, just presented from different angles. But it is more likely that the transfer of migrants from Germany to Moldova for further deportation is now being considered.

Overall, Maia Sandu, who has lost the trust of the population, can boast that she opened her country’s door to migrants deported from Germany and agreed to the deportation of Moldovans.

NARRATIVE: Berlin and Chișinău are preparing an agreement that will allow migrants to be relocated to Moldova before deportation.

PURPOSE: The narrative is designed to induce fear in Moldovan society that the Republic of Moldova might be invaded by migrants, a false narrative similar to another circulated one that also targeted Maia Sandu during the campaign for the 2016 presidential election.

WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The main messages that Olaf Scholz conveyed during his visit to Chișinău referred to the support for the European integration efforts of the Republic of Moldova in the context of the war in Ukraine. During the joint press briefing, a journalist asked about the signing of an agreement in the field of migration and the possibilities of recruiting workers from the Republic of Moldova. Both officials stated that such a document is in the works.

“It is being prepared as we speak. We already have an important diaspora in Germany. We would like them to return home, but we are glad that our people found a good home there and are contributing to the economic growth of both Germany, as well as the Republic of Moldova”, Maia Sandu said.

“Talks are well underway. There are no strategic issues to be resolved, but there are certain elements that need to be implemented, and I believe this agreement will bring benefits to the citizens of both countries”, Olaf Scholz said.

Neither Olaf Scholz nor Maia Sandu said anything about relocating migrants with a view to deporting them, as the author of the Telegram account falsely claims.

Migration agreements with third countries have been commonplace at European Union level for almost two decades. As for Germany, Olaf Scholz's government aims to manage migration more effectively and reduce, or even eliminate, illegal migration by signing such migration agreements, which it calls partnerships. Such migration-related partnerships are bilateral agreements that regulate migration in the respective states. They therefore address their citizens, by no means the citizens of third countries. The relocation of migrants (more specifically refugees) is an internal issue of the European Union and has generated discussions between Member States in the context of the refugee crisis, when certain countries have been exposed to a very large number of arrivals and requested that the burden of supporting these refugees be shared by other Member States, which should take in a certain percentage of these migrants (the famous migration quotas).

A migration agreement/partnership with Chișinău would allow Germany to more easily repatriate troublemaking migrants from the Republic of Moldova. On the other hand, however, it also presents a series of significant advantages for Moldovans who migrate to Germany or who are already there: opportunities to find better jobs for which they are qualified, as work migration is encouraged in those areas facing a shortage of jobs, less red tape compared to Germany, additional rights, etc.

BACKGROUND: The issue of foreign migrants became a bone of contention after the fake-news campaign that emerged during the 2016 presidential election, when certain press articles claimed that Maia Sandu, who was running in the second round of the presidential elections, had promised the then German chancellor, Angela Merkel, that Moldova will take in host 30,000 Syrians if she becomes president.

The Republic of Moldova is not an attractive destination for migrants because its economy is by no means appealing. However, false stories are often spread periodically to scare Moldovan society, particularly around an election cycle, regarding a so-called “invasion” of migrants, maybe also as a result of the narrative about the 30,000 Syrians. For instance, in the 2019 campaign for parliamentary election, a pro-Russian portal (which in the meantime was blocked by the Intelligence and Security Service of Moldova for promoting fake news) wrote that Moldova accepted the first refugees from Bangladesh, whom Italy had previously rejected. The news was quickly picked up by at least five other media outlets.

In 2021, the Syrians “returned” to the Republic of Moldova, by now already led by Maia Sandu, to influence the parliamentary election, but the false stories no longer had the same impact as back in 2016.

Although there are large numbers of Moldovans working abroad, agreements to facilitate their work conditions (when they resort to Moldovan documents, since in most cases, those who have Romanian citizenship prefer to use their Romanian passports) are often interpreted differently and designed to manipulate audiences.  Veridica has dismantled such fake news.