Germany says it can't cope with 800,000 refugees per year
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Berlin (dpa) - A top official said Thursday that Germany has been taking nearly half of all refugees arriving in the European Union of late, but cannot cope much longer at that pace.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere was speaking a day after Germany said it expected a record 800,000 people, equivalent to 1 per cent of its present population, to arrive and apply for political asylum in the course of this year.
There have been a few racist protests, but most communities nationwide have rallied to build extra space to accommodate the new arrivals.
"This year we have to cope, and we will. But long-term, 800,000 per year are too much for a country the size of Germany," said de Maiziere during a breakfast show produced by broadcaster ZDF.
"We are now taking 40 per cent of all refugees in the EU," he said,raising pressure on other EU nations that have angrily repelled refugees and resisted quotas to do more to help Germany out. "Long-term, that's too much," he said.
Germany gives every refugee a hearing, with appeal rights, before deporting those ineligible for asylum.
With huge numbers of people fleeing Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and other world trouble spots, de Maiziere has been advocating fast-track deportation for Balkan citizens, who mostly do not qualify, while speeding up education and integration for the other immigrants.
Ethnic tension between refugees in overcrowded hostels exploded late Wednesday in Suhl, central Germany. Police said a brawl left 10 hostel residents and four police injured. Police said the fight broke out after a hostel resident was accused of insulting the Koran, theMuslim holy book.
The Suhl site is supposed to hold 1,200 people, but has had to take 1,800. Municipalities are required to set up and operate such hostels.
