This new situation requires new measures, said Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, in Berlin. In light of the increasing numbers, he will make suggestions on how to tackle the issue at the refugee summit this coming Friday. It is difficult to predict how the number of asylum seekers from the Western Balkan states will develop: “This is of central importance,” said de Maizière.

In the first three months, half of all asylum seekers came from this region. It is also difficult to estimate refugees coming from across the Mediterranean. Experience shows that approximately one third of all refugees rescued in the Mediterranean come to Germany.

A discussion will be held on Friday (8 May) in the Federal Chancellery on asylum and refugee matters. Topics include, amongst others, accommodation for asylum seekers, the costs involved, and integration issues.
In addition to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière, Federal Minister Peter Altmaierand Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration Aydan Özoğuz will be taking part. Also invited are the Chairman of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), Frank-Jürgen Weise, Manfred Schmidt, President of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), and representatives of the federal states.

Allocation of refugees

Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke about the allocation of the refugees. After the extraordinary meeting of the European Council on 23 April 2015, she made the following comments about accepting refugees in Europe: “Germany and Sweden alone have 45 percent of asylum seekers. Together with Italy, France and Hungary, we are already at 75 percent. This means that three quarters of all asylum seekers are hosted by five member states.”

Therefore we must consider “how we can further develop our asylum system within the European Union.” It can be expected that everyone participates.