Germany calls for fastest possible return of refugees from the Balkans

The debate over the increased influx of refugees into Germany continues - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has spoken in favor of accelerating the return to their countries of origin of refugees from the Balkans whose asylum applications have been rejected, while Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed the need for a unified refugee policy at the European Union level, reports the Patria news agency.

"We are facing enormous challenges when it comes to refugee policy," said Angela Merkel (CDU) in an interview with the public broadcaster ZDF.

She emphasized the need for a clear differentiation in treatment between refugees coming to Germany for economic reasons and those seeking refuge from persecution and conflict.

"Germany cannot grant asylum to everyone who thinks the economic situation is better here. Otherwise, we will not be able to provide adequate protection to those who seek protection here," Merkel said.

German Foreign Minister Steinmeier advocated for faster deportation of refugees from the Balkans and for speeding up the asylum application review process for people coming from Balkan countries.

"The procedure must be accelerated, and after its conclusion, deportation must follow," Steinmeier said in an interview with the daily Bild.

Steinmeier, who until now, like his Social Democratic Party of Germany, had reacted relatively cautiously to the increased number of refugees from the Western Balkans, also advocated for declaring, after Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, other Western Balkan countries such as Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia as safe, which could speed up the rejection of asylum applications from applicants coming from these countries.

Since the beginning of the year, there has been a particularly increased number of asylum applicants from Kosovo and Albania.