Berlin had beforehand voted to tighten border controls following a spree of violent crimes dedicated by international nationals
Germany, which has been the first vacation spot for asylum seekers within the EU, has seen a serious decline in new functions, Der Spiegel reported on Monday, citing a latest research by the European Union Company for Asylum (EUAA). The discount in functions comes as German authorities have launched stricter border checks amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment within the nation.
Based on the report, the general variety of asylum requests in Germany in 2024 dropped by almost 30% in comparison with the earlier 12 months, with EUAA figures displaying a lower of round 92,000 functions. However, Germany has remained the primary vacation spot for first-time candidates, the EUAA has discovered.
In the meantime, throughout the EU, Norway, and Switzerland, asylum claims have additionally fallen, with a complete of 1.01 million functions recorded in 2024, down 100,000 from the earlier 12 months. On the identical time, utility charges in international locations like Spain, France and Italy have remained largely the identical.
The report acknowledged that almost all candidates final 12 months got here from Syria, adopted by Afghanistan, Venezuela and Türkiye.
The sharp decline in functions comes as Berlin has launched more durable entry insurance policies in response to rising public issues. In 2024, Germany expanded border controls with its EU neighbors, citing a rise in irregular migration. The measures, which included stricter checks alongside the nation’s borders with Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, had been prolonged for a further six months in January forward of federal elections.
Anti-immigration sentiments in Germany have additionally continued to develop in mild of violent incidents being perpetrated by international nationals. Final month, an Afghan asylum seeker drove a automotive right into a labour union rally in Munich, killing not less than two individuals, together with a two-year-old baby, and injuring not less than 39 extra.
The same incident passed off in December, when a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist drove his automotive right into a crowd on the Magdeburg Christmas market, leading to 5 fatalities, together with a toddler, and injuring over 200 individuals.
These and different high-profile assaults have intensified political calls lately for stronger restrictions on immigration, which turned one of many key points within the latest parliamentary elections. Final week, the ruling Social Democratic Occasion misplaced floor to the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the right-wing Different for Germany (AfD), which had campaigned on stricter insurance policies.
Supply hyperlink
