Brussels, 07/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 6 May, the German Home Secretary, Thomas de Maizière, indicated that Germany was the country where most asylum seekers sought asylum in Europe and according to a report by the AFP news agency, he is expecting more than 400,000 asylum seekers this year, double the number in 2014. During his presentation of these figures, the CDU minister added, “this new situation requires new measures”, despite the fact that asylum seeker reception centres have been overwhelmed by this massive influx, to the extent that the authorities are now requisitioning schools and abandoned garrisons.
Many of the refugees come from conflict zones, particularly Syria. Nonetheless, there are also a lot from Balkan countries, particularly Kosovo and Albania. Last year, Germany took in more than 202,000 asylum seekers, 60% more than in 2013. On 13 May, the European Commission is expected to put forward a communication on immigration, in which it likely to highlight a mechanism for distributing asylum seekers and refugees between member states by way of a “quota” system. (Solenn Paulic)