Germany's coalition government has passed a draft law to classify Moldova and Georgia as safe countries of origin. The measure is aimed at curbing asylum applications and irregular migration.
Germany has classified Moldova and Georgia as "safe countries of origin," meaning asylum applications from those countries could be processed faster and lead to faster deportations for failed applicants.
Germany defines safe countries of origin as those where it can be assumed that there is generally no fear of state prosecution and where "the respective state can protect against non-state persecution in principle."
The German cabinet passed the draft law by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Wednesday (August 30) in Meseberg, Brandenburg. The next step is for the regulation to pass through the Bundestag (parliament) and Bundesrat (legislative body representing Germany's 16 states at the federal level).
"Here we can effectively reduce irregular migration very quickly," Faeser declared, adding that Germany is also in the process of concluding migration agreements with Georgia and Moldova. "This opens up opportunities for people who want to come to Germany for vocational training or work – skilled individuals whom we urgently need," she said.
Georgia and Moldova see 99.9% rejection
Despite the new regulations, Georgians and Moldovans will be able to continue to apply for asylum, but their chances of approval will be "close to non-existent now," the Associated Press reported.
Applications from Moldova and Georgia are almost always rejected. The approval rate for asylum requests from the two countries currently stands at only 0.15%, according to the German interior ministry. 99.9% of applications from both countries were rejected in 2022 and the first half of 2023. Combined they make up over a tenth of all rejected applications. Around 8,865 Georgians and 5,218 people from Moldova applied for asylum in Germany in 2022.
The coalition government agreed to the new measure in a bid to reduce asylum applications from the two countries during a two-day cabinet retreat at Schloss Meseberg – a castle outside Berlin.
Reception at capacity
Germany is struggling to accommodate over 1 million refugees who fled the war in Ukraine last year, as well as more than 188,000 other people who applied for asylum in Germany in 2022.
Refugee rights group Pro Asyl has slammed the latest measure, saying that Russia occupies breakaway regions in both countries, undermining security in addition to LGBTIQ+ rights in Georgia and press freedom in Moldova.
The opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), meanwhile, said the measure was not enough.
"In addition to extending border controls, it would also be urgently necessary to classify the Maghreb states of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as safe countries of origin," the parliamentary faction of the Christian Democrats said in a written statement, adding that Germany had not done enough to cut back irregular migration.