Germany expects 800,000 refugees in 2015

Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel

Germany Interior Minister, Thomas de’Maiziere, said the number of asylum-seekers and refugees to Germany would quadruple to a record 800,000 at the end of 2015.

He said on Wednesday at a news conference in Berlin that Germany had become a magnet for refugees from Africa, Asia and Middle East.

De’Maiziere criticised European Union (EU) partners for not doing much as expected on the increased number of asylum-seekers and refugees.

He said that the number of immigrants across the EU had shot up in recent months.

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He said that many asylum-seekers and refugees undertook dangerous sea voyages to reach southern Europe, and made their ways across the continent in the hope of reaching wealthier nations like Germany.

The minister disclosed that Germany’s previous biggest annual intake of refugees was 438,191 in 1992, when it received large number of refugees fleeing conflicts resulting from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

He said that a year later, the German parliament changed the constitution to impose stricter rules on asylum, but added that after the imposition, the numbers sank to a low of 28,000 in 2008 before they started climbing again

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