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Page 1 — grand Coalition settles in asylum dispute

Page 2 — Austria and Hungary reject withdrawal agreements

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The leaders of grand coalition have agreed on new measures in asylum policy after weeks of controversy. SPD chairwoman Andrea Nahles and vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said after a coalition committee that it was agreed to speed up asylum procedures. In addition, an immigration law will be brought through cabinet later this year. The latter was a central SPD demand.

In future, migrants who have already applied for asylum in anor EU country are to undergo a transit procedure in existing federal police bodies in direct proximity, as dpa news agency has quoted from Unification paper. From re y should be able to return to competent first-host state. There is no longer any question of "transit centres" to which Union had agreed and which SPD had rejected.

"There is no barbed wire or similar," said federal interior minister and CSU chief Horst Seehofer to border facilities of federal Police. There would be between two and five refugees every day, who would have to have "total freedom" again at latest after 48 hours, but y should not enter Germany. It is not "mass storage", as is partly claimed.

Seehofer Satisfied

The new asylum compromise could at end affect far fewer people than initially planned. At first it was said that all migrants who were taken up at border and were registered elsewhere with fingerprints should be affected. This would be a much larger group than those who have already lodged asylum applications elsewhere.

As a whole, Seehofer was satisfied with new compromise: "This is everything from A to Z as you would like it to be minister responsible," said Seehofer.

Last week, after an internal dispute over future refugee policy, Union agreed on a compromise. As a result, migrants on German-Austrian border should be picked up and sent back if y had already lodged an application for asylum in or EU countries. The union and SPD wanted to discuss compromise in coalition Committee; The SPD, however, introduced a new proposal, as Andrea Nahles shortly before planned meeting. The new proposal also focused on principles of humanitarian and solidarity, Nahles said.

Date Of Update: 06 July 2018, 12:02