A Surge of Serbs and Macedonians: Germany Seeks to Halt Influx of Balkans Asylum Seekers
Germany Seeks to Halt Influx of Balkans Asylum Seekers
With a massive surge in asylum applications from people of the Roma minority from Serbia and Macedonia, Germany’s interior minister is calling for new rules to expedite processing these cases. Although many come to the EU for better economic opportunities, they also face racial discrimination at home, advocacy groups say.
After observing an extreme rise in the number of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia in recent weeks, Germany’s interior minister is calling for tighter rules for processing the applications.
“Those who originate from safe countries, should be provided with reduced cash benefits in the future,” Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, a conservative with Bavaria’s Christian Social Union party, told the daily Die Welt.
Two weeks ago, Friedrich advised Germany’s federal states that they could better defend themselves against the flood of applicants by providing vouchers for food and services rather than cash benefits to the asylum seekers, many of whom are of the Roma minority.
In December 2009, members of the border-free Schengen zone, which includes most European Union member states, lifted visa requirements on a number of Balkans nations, leading to a surge in the number of people entering into the EU from countries like Serbia and Macedonia.
Friedrich is demanding expedited procedures for approving or rejecting asylum applications. He said the right of appeal in Germany’s legal system would make a fast-track, 48-hour process like Switzerland’s impossible, but he would still like to see decisions on asylum made in the fastest possible way. Currently in Germany, the asylum process can take months to complete, and during that time food, accommodation and financial support are given to applicants.
“The huge inflow of Serbian and Macedonian citizens must be stopped immediately,” Friedrich said earlier this month. “The quicker this happens, the less right they will have to state funds. Visa-free travel must not lead to abuse of the asylum rules. This will strain the readiness of Germans to help the truly needy and persecuted.”