http://neurope.eu/article/germany-toughens-asylum-policy/
Germany toughens asylum policy
PUBLISHED 14:01 JANUARY 4, 2016UPDATED 14:01 JANUARY 4, 2016
Refugees who wish to obtain asylum in Germany, will have to prove their identity and state their education level
By NEOnline/GK
The German government toughened its asylum policy and from now on refugees will have to prove that they come from war-torn countries to obtain the refugee status in Germany.
Before 2016, the German government had in place a policy of granting automatic refugee status to Syrians entering the country. However, Financial Times reported that from January 1st, refugees wishing to live in Germany are interviewed to prove their stated identity. During the individual hearings, the people in need are also asked about their country of origin, education and the route they took to Germany.
Germany had previously automatically considered all people from Syria, Eritrea and Iraq as asylum seekers. Due to Germany’s open door policy, more than 1.1 million people came to the richest EU country seeking asylum in 2015, and half the refugees originated from war-torn Syria.
However, the German government begun to toughen its refugee policy as the months went by and in December, German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined that economic migrants don’t qualify for asylum in Germany. Merkel said in joint press conference with President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani then, that Afghans who seek a better living in Germany will be repatriated.
Merkel was under immense pressure to change her government’s refugee policy due to increased criticism by the conservative wing of her government and the falling popular support of her party, the Christian Democrats, in opinion polls.
Yesterday, Deutsche Welle, reported that the leader of the state of Bavaria and head of the Christian Social Union (CSU) – the Bavarian sister party of the CDU- Horst Seehofer told the German tabloid, “Bild am Sonntag” that Germany needs to further tighten its refugee policy.
“From our past experience I can say Germany has no problem with an influx of 100,000 or at most 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees fleeing war,” said Seehofer, knowing that more than one million people asked for asylum in Germany.
However, in her New Year’s Eve statement, Merkel told the German people that “countries have always benefitted from successful immigration, both economically and socially.” The German leader added that Germany’s economy is strong enough to shoulder the refugee burden, with low unemployment, no new debts and rising real wages.
Merkel knows that Germany faces a demographic crisis, as the German population is set to decline from a 2002 peak of 82 million to 74.5 million by 2050, according to the UN. However, the refugee influx will help the German government to deal with the crisis, only if the refugees fully integrate in the German society.
Merkel stressed in her speech that “it is crucial not to follow those who, with coldness or even hatred in their hearts, lay a sole claim to what it means to be German and seek to exclude others.”
Received on Mon Jan 04 2016 - 12:59:47 EST