Federal Council agrees: Georgia and Moldova will be safe countries of origin in future
According to the German government, the recognition rate for asylum seekers from Georgia and Moldova was only around 0.1% in the first half of 2023, meaning that only around one in every thousand applications was recognized.
With the law that has now been passed, the German government wants to ensure that these applications are processed more quickly and that they can be returned more quickly if they are rejected. According to the draft law, this will make Germany "less attractive as a destination country for asylum applications made for non-asylum-related reasons".
However, the right to an individual hearing and examination of the application remains unaffected in principle. However, those affected must generally live in refugee accommodation and are not allowed to take up employment in Germany.
The law still has to be signed by the Federal President and published in the Federal Law Gazette. It is due to come into force the day after it is promulgated.
Criticism of the classification was previously voiced by the left and human rights organizations such as Pro Asyl. The organization stated that there was "no nationwide security and no security for all groups" in both countries.
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- The Federal Council's decision means that Germany considers Georgia and Moldova to be safe countries of origin in the future.
- The Federal Government hopes that this change will make Germany less appealing as a destination for non-asylum-related applications from these two countries.
- According to the German law, asylum seekers from these countries will have their applications processed more efficiently and may be returned more quickly if rejected.
- This law, however, does not affect the right to an individual hearing and examination of the application.
- Those impacted by the law will generally be required to live in refugee accommodation and are not allowed to work in Germany.
- The classification of Georgia and Moldova as safe countries of origin has faced criticism from the left and organizations like Pro Asyl, arguing that there is no nationwide security or safety for all groups in both countries.
- In the future, Germany may consider extending this classification to other countries like Moldova or Georgia, based on their own assessments of safety.
Source: www.stern.de
