Germany has seen a sharp drop in asylum applications. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt links this trend to changes in migration policy and border measures.
The number of asylum applications in Germany continues to decrease. From the beginning of the year to October, 97,277 new people filed them, which is significantly less than 199,947 for the same period last year. This follows from the data of the Ministry of the Interior, TASR informs, according to the report of the DPA agency. “Our changes in migration policy are working,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Bild daily, adding that the government had succeeded in making Germany less attractive as a destination country.
According to the spokesperson of the Department of the Interior, the decrease was due to the tightening of border controls. Since May, approximately 18,600 people have been rejected or returned at the border, he added. After taking office in May, Dobrindt ordered that asylum seekers be rejected at the border. According to the DPA, the measures taken by the Balkan countries could also have an impact on the reduction in the number of migrants.
Another factor is the change in the situation in Syria, which in the past was the main country of origin of asylum seekers – after the overthrow of Bashar Assad’s regime in December, the number of refugees from this country decreased, the agency noted.
