The German government wants to contain the flow of asylum seekers from
the western Balkans. That would mainly affect Sinti and Roma. The
opposition has accused the government of poisoning the climate.
The grand coalition of conservative Christian parties and the Social Democrats wants to pass a new law declaring Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina safe countries of origin. The governing coalition also wants to shorten the asylum procedure. The responsible authority, the Federal Agency of Migration and Refugees, would then assume asylum requests from these countries are unfounded. The applicants, mainly Sinti and Roma, would then have to prove during asylum interviews that they are persecuted in order to avoid deportation. An appeal of a deportation ruling would have to be filled within a week.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere (CDU) has referred to the sharp increase of asylum seekers from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina since the lifting of the visa requirements in 2009 and 2010 as reason for the new law. Currently one fourth of the asylum requests are from these three countries. Most of the asylum seekers are considered economic migrants and there is a growing lack of understanding among the German population, he added.
A responsible asylum policy has "to preserve the huge readiness for admission, which characterizes our society, for the acceptance for the people who really need protection," the interior minister said in response to criticism from the opposition and relief organizations that the proposed policy was overly harsh.
Read more: German parliament discusses asylum law | Europe | DW.DE | 06.06.2014
The grand coalition of conservative Christian parties and the Social Democrats wants to pass a new law declaring Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina safe countries of origin. The governing coalition also wants to shorten the asylum procedure. The responsible authority, the Federal Agency of Migration and Refugees, would then assume asylum requests from these countries are unfounded. The applicants, mainly Sinti and Roma, would then have to prove during asylum interviews that they are persecuted in order to avoid deportation. An appeal of a deportation ruling would have to be filled within a week.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere (CDU) has referred to the sharp increase of asylum seekers from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina since the lifting of the visa requirements in 2009 and 2010 as reason for the new law. Currently one fourth of the asylum requests are from these three countries. Most of the asylum seekers are considered economic migrants and there is a growing lack of understanding among the German population, he added.
A responsible asylum policy has "to preserve the huge readiness for admission, which characterizes our society, for the acceptance for the people who really need protection," the interior minister said in response to criticism from the opposition and relief organizations that the proposed policy was overly harsh.
Read more: German parliament discusses asylum law | Europe | DW.DE | 06.06.2014
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