German Minister of Internal Affairs Nancy Faeser defended the planned recognition of Georgia and Moldova as safe countries.
“Both countries want to join the European Union. In both countries, people are usually not at risk of persecution for political reasons. In addition, more than one in ten asylum seekers in Germany come from these countries, and recognition as safe will allow us to reduce illegal migration very quickly and effectively,” she said in an interview with Funke’s publications released on Wednesday, August 30, as reported by DW.
Nancy Faeser announced the planned signing of agreements in the field of migration with Moldova and Georgia.
“This will give a chance to people who want to come to Germany, get an education here, work here, and it will also attract essential qualified personnel,” she said, adding that Moldova and Georgia at the same time undertake to take back people who do not have the right stay in Germany. Until now, due to the lack of such agreements, Germany has not been able to expel a large number of migrants.
The German government intends to approve the bill submitted by Faeser on August 30. The German Interior Ministry substantiated the need for the speedy adoption of this document by the fact that in the first half of the year, the share of approved asylum applications from citizens of Moldova and Georgia was only 0.1 percent.
The status of safe countries of origin will allow Germany to expedite the processing of asylum applications from citizens of these countries and expel rejected migrants more quickly.
According to the German Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2022 and the first half of 2023, 99.9% of asylum seekers’ applications from the mentioned countries were rejected.
In total, 8,865 citizens of Georgia and 5,218 citizens of Moldova sought asylum in Germany in 2022.
