Germany urged to deter Balkan asylum claims

German politicians called in August 2015 for measures to deter people from the Balkans from seeking asylum in Germany. Only a tiny percentage were ever granted asylum, with many deemed to be economic migrants from countries deemed 'safe'.

About half of Germany's 300,000 asylum applications since January 2015 had come from Balkans countries. Germany was Europe's number one destination for asylum seekers.

Germany was also receiving large numbers of asylum seekers from people fleeing persecution, war and poverty in other parts of the world.

• Primary Source

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