Understanding Europe

Migration has been a key issue in the German elections. This photo captured in Brandenburg, eastern Germany, shows campaign posters for the pro-business FDP, the center-left SPD and the Greens, as well as Volt. The Volt party is not covered in our series because it is polling well below 5 percent and unlikely to make it into the Bundestag | Photo: picture alliance
File photo: The number of asylum applications in Germany has fallen since 2023 | Photo:Boris Roessler/dpa/picture alliance
File photo: Some of the wild berries picked in Finland | Source: Press Release Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Finnish Migration Service
BSW's leader and found Sahra Wagenknecht thinks Germany "deserves more security," and advocates "stopping irregular migration' | Photo: Marco Bader / HMB Media / picture alliance
Jan van Aken, federal chairman of the party Die Linke, and Heidi Reichinnek, lead candidate of Die Linke for the 2025 federal election, stand on stage during the party's federal convention for the 2025 parliamentary election | Photo: picture-alliance