The number of first-time asylum applications in Germany fell significantly in the first seven months of the year. From January to July, the authorities registered 70,011 applications, as confirmed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in response to a report in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. This was a decline of almost 50 percent compared to the same period last year. Last year, there were 140,783 applications from January to July.
“We have massively reduced the number of first-time asylum applications compared to last year,” Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) told Bild am Sonntag. The course will be continued. After the black-red federal government took office at the beginning of May, Dobrindt ordered increased controls and rejections at all nine German land borders with neighboring countries. According to information from the federal police on Friday, 9,506 people had been rejected by the end of July.
According to a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, 8,293 first-time applications for asylum were filed in Germany in July. This was almost 45 percent less than in the same month last year, when 18,503 applications were registered. However, there was an increase of around one-fifth from month to month. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), only 6,860 first-time applications were recorded in June.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior was unable to give specific reasons for this at the time. “The figures are currently being evaluated,” a spokesperson told the AFP news agency. The BAMF will “publish further information on this in the near future.” The BAMF's regular monthly figures are expected to be announced next week.
In any case, Dobrindt wants to maintain the stricter border controls for the time being. “We are delivering the asylum turnaround,” he told Focus magazine.
“Our border controls are effective and will continue to be maintained.” The border controls are currently limited until September 15. Dobrindt would have to notify the EU Commission of any extension. In Bild am Sonntag, the interior minister also referred to further measures. “We want procedures at the EU's external borders, faster decisions, and consistent repatriations.” Tougher action will also be taken against smugglers. “Because it is the state that must regulate who comes into our country, not criminal smuggling gangs.”
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