Insufficient steps for safe countries of origin
Saxony-Anhalt's Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) is not satisfied with the classification of Georgia and Moldova as safe countries of origin. The list must be significantly expanded in order to limit irregular migration, the CDU politician explained on Friday. "This would also send a clear signal to these countries that anyone without grounds for protection will not set off in the first place." The federal government is acting too hesitantly, criticized Zieschang.
In June, the Conference of Interior Ministers unanimously decided to add Georgia, Armenia, India, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Moldova to the list. However, the Bundestag only classified Georgia and Moldova as safe countries of origin on Thursday.
If the Bundesrat agrees, asylum seekers from the two Eastern European countries can be rejected more easily in future. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees assumes that returnees in Georgia and Moldova are generally not at risk of persecution or inhumane treatment. The recognition rate for asylum seekers was less than 0.1 percent in the first half of the year. In future, their asylum applications will therefore be processed in an accelerated procedure.
The recognition rate for Indians is also very low, said Zieschang. "There is absolutely no reason not to classify the world's largest democracy as a safe country of origin."
The number of new asylum seekers in Germany reached 31,887 in October this year, the highest figure since 2016. So far in 2023, 267,384 initial applications for asylum have been received. This means that 2023 will also be the year with the most asylum applications since the record year of 2016. Back then, 722,370 initial applications for asylum were made.
Due to insufficient progress in improving conditions, adding more countries like Georgia and Moldova to the safe countries of origin list could deter potential refugees, as stated by Saxony-Anhalt's Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang. upset with the federal government's slow response, she emphasized that classifying India as a safe country of origin, given its low recognition rate for asylum seekers, is necessary to address the ongoing migration issue.
Source: www.dpa.com
