News Digest

Germany speeds up deportations to sift from migrants from refugees

Germany is introducing measures to tackle its refugee crisis earlier than previously expected, officials said on Friday. The move will allow for accelerated deportation procedures to begin as early as next week as the country handles a record influx of more than 800,000 migrants this year. The tighter rules aim to speed up extradition procedures for migrants from south-eastern Europe, in order to focus on refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Peter Altmaier, chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, said the new measures could now be expected to come into effect before a previously foreseen start date of November 1.

We want to get better and faster this year at the deportation of rejected applicants who have no claim to remain here.

Peter Altmaier, chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff

The move comes as support for Merkel’s conservatives has fallen because of concern over the refugee crisis, with many Germans feeling the country cannot cope with the influx. Meanwhile, German car maker Daimler AG is giving the German Red Cross more than 600,000 euros it collected through an employee donation program to help the agency deal with the crisis. It is also starting a program to bring in 40 asylum-seekers as trainees at its Mercedes-Benz plant in Stuttgart. Slovenia’s prime minister says his country has asked the European Commission for 60 million euros over six months to aid the handling of thousands of migrants passing through. Nearly 50,000 migrants have entered Slovenia since Hungary closed its border with Croatia Saturday and migrants turned to the Alpine nation for a new passage to Western Europe.