Germany vows to deport failed asylum seekers faster

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, vows to boost efforts to deport failed asylum seekers faster and has reached an agreement with Greece and Spain to return asylum-seekers back to the two countries if they first applied for asylum there and later went to Germany.

On 16 August, after facing far-right protests against her migration policy in the eastern state of Saxony, Merkel said that her government would increase efforts to deport migrants whose asylum applications were refused.

“I made clear that we have a situation now where not all problems have been solved, especially deportations are still a big problem,” she said in a press conference.

“The federal government will assume more responsibility here, especially by helping to procure the needed documents,” she added.

According to Reuters, Merkel has repeatedly defended her decision to accept the influx of refugees and migrants during the humanitarian emergency in 2014, but pledges to avoid the repetition of such a situation and to battle the causes of migration into Europe.

In related news, Germany reached an agreement with Greece on 17 August to return migrants back to Greece if they first sought asylum in that country. A similar deal was sealed with Spain a week earlier, and an agreement with Italy is soon to follow.

“The signature of an administrative agreement with Greece is a further step on the way to more orderly conditions in European migration policy,” German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said in a statement.

In a press conference Ministry spokeswoman Eleonore Petermann said the agreements would allow Germany to return migrants who qualify within 48 hours of crossing Germany’s border.

Petermann added that they are in the advanced stages of coming to a similar deal with the Italian government.

Since the open-door policy in 2014, over 1.6 million migrants have arrived in Germany. This has resulted in protests, especially from the far-right who are calling for Merkel to resign as a result.

TMP – 30/08/2018

Photo caption: Munich, Germany, A family of migrants walks down the street