Europe

German far-right supporters have demanded action in response to a stabbing attack by a Syrian immigrant. EU officials are nervous about what the policy response might be

Good morning. News to start: French President Emmanuel Macron has refuted Moscow’s allegations that the arrest of Russian-born Telegram founder Pavel Durov was politically motivated, after prosecutors said the billionaire was detained on allegations his messaging app was used for drug trafficking and sharing of child sexual abuse material.

Today, I unpack what Germany’s response to a stabbing attack this weekend could mean for Europe. And our man in the Balkans has news of weary Bulgaria’s seventh general election in three years.

Knife edge A fatal knife attack in Germany has convulsed the country’s politics ahead of regional elections this weekend — but is also worrying officials across the EU nervous about the rise of the far right and anti-immigration rhetoric.

Context: A Syrian man stabbed three people to death and injured eight more on Friday night in the west German city of Solingen. The attack has boosted already strong support for the far-right nationalist Alternative for Germany party ahead of elections in the states of Saxony and Thuringia this Sunday.

Yesterday, alongside promising to tighten Germany’s laws on weapons, Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to reduce the inflow of irregular migrants and increase deportations. That followed remarks by Björn Höcke, the AfD’s leader in Thuringia, who blamed the attack on what he called: “This multicultural experiment on our country.”

There are two major concerns for Brussels from the Solingen tragedy.

Short-term, it has rammed home the political dangers posed by a resurgent far right across Europe, just weeks after centrist parties celebrated what they saw as European election results that confirmed their dominance of the EU’s political stage.

Longer-term, many in Europe worry that a knee-jerk reaction in Germany — potentially including new border controls and possibly even checks on movement inside of the country — could prompt a rash of similar unilateral moves by other countries where anti-immigration politicians are popular.

That would undermine the core principles of the EU’s Schengen free movement area, and further strain a fundamental aspect of the bloc’s single market.

“We can’t react to this by slamming the door in the faces of people who are often themselves fleeing from Islamists,” said Kevin Kühnert, general secretary of Scholz’s Social Democrats party.

Many in Brussels hope that calmer response prevails.