Germany’s interior ministry has called for entire refugee families to be accepted as part of the EU’s latest resettlement program. 10,200 refugees are planned to be taken in by Germany by the end of 2019.
Stephan Mayer, Parliamentary State Secretary in Germany's interior ministry, said that families, rather than individuals, should be accepted under the program. According to dpa, Mayer said one of the aims of the proposal was to rule out from the outset any future claims to family reunification.
Whole refugee families could be considered for resettlement, but each individual family-member would be counted as one beneficiary of the resettlement contingent, Mayer explained.
The EU program aims to provide a legal, direct and safe route to Europe for refugees in need of protection. At least 50,000 refugees from crisis areas are to be brought into the EU by 2019. The EU will be supporting host countries by providing €500 million ($620 million) in funding for the program. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had announced that 4,600 refugees will be taken to Germany this year and the remaining 5,600 are to follow in 2019.
Criteria for selection
Refugees will be selected in multiple steps. In the first phase, the German interior ministry will define criteria of eligibility. The country of origin, as well as possible connections to Germany and a knowledge of the German language, could play a role, Mayer said, according to dpa.
In the next step, the UN refugee agency UNHCR will propose people for resettlement. The final decision will be made by the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF. In addition, German authorities will run security checks.
The resettlement program is for people considered particularly vulnerable, such as underage refugees or torture victims who can neither stay in their present location nor return to their home countries.