Germany speeds up new measures to deal with refugee influx

Germany is speeding up measures to tackle its refugee crisis, a top government official said on Friday, allowing accelerated deportations to begin as early as next week.

The tighter rules aim to speed up asylum and extradition procedures for migrants from southeastern Europe, in order to focus on refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Germany expects a record influx of more than 800,000 migrants this year, by far the most in the European Union.

Peter Altmaier, Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, said the new measures could now be expected to come into effect before a previously foreseen start date of Nov. 1.
"That would be a good signal," he told ARD television.

"We want to get better and faster this year at the deportation of rejected applicants who have no claim to remain here," added Altmaier, whom Merkel appointed earlier this month to oversee her government's handling of the refugee crisis.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also launched an initiative aimed at speeding up the deportation procedure for unsuccessful asylum applicants from the Balkans.

In a joint letter to the foreign ministers of six Balkan countries, seen by Reuters, de Maiziere and Steinmeier asked them to accept so-called "laissez-passer" documents. These papers are issued by the country the unsuccessful asylum seekers are deported from, in this case Germany.

Unsuccessful asylum-seekers often cannot be sent back to their home countries if they do not have passports, and getting laissez-passer paperwork recognized often takes a long time.

Support for Merkel's conservatives is falling due to concern over the refugee crisis.

Many Germans feel the country cannot cope with the influx, and a poll for ARD showed three-quarters of Germans expected the refugees to change German society. - Read More at reuters

Germany speeds up new measures to deal with refugee influx