Albanians continue exodus to Germany
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TIRANA, Aug. 10 - Albanians continue their exodus to Germany although the wave of migrants seeking asylum there has considerably slowed down compared to last year.
The latest report by Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF, showed nearly 10,000 Albanians applied for asylum in Germany in the first seven months of this year, three times fewer compared to the same period last year.
The new migration wave comes at a time when chances asylum will be granted to Albanian citizens are exceptionally low as the country has been designated as a safe country of origin by German authorities.
The BAMF report shows the number of Albanian asylum-seekers has been on a rising trend since last May, peaking in July with seven-month high of 1,599 applications.
Some 9,685 Albanians sought asylum in Germany in the first seven months of this year compared to a record 29,857 during the same period last year. An overwhelming majority of 8,517 of them were first-time asylum seekers.
The report ranks Albania as the sixth main country of origin for asylum-seekers for this year and the only European country in the top-ten asylum list dominated by war-torn Asian and African nations.
More than 65,000 Albanians applied for asylum in EU countries last year accounting for 5 percent of asylum claims filed last year, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Albania was the fifth main country of origin of asylum seekers in the European Union in 2015 after Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Germany was the most attractive destination for Albanian asylum seekers with 53,805 asylum claims registered, or 12 percent of all asylum seekers in Germany, the second highest number after Syria. France and Sweden received the second and third highest number of applications from Albanian nationals with 3,220 and 2,565 pending applications respectively in 2015.
Last year, Germany witnessed a surge in asylum claims from Albanian nationals after rumors spread that the country needed workers. However, chances asylum will be granted for Albanian citizens are exceptionally low.
Only 2.6 percent of Albanian asylum-seekers in EU member countries were granted asylum in 2015, according to a Eurostat report. The figures unveil how difficult it will be to obtain asylum status for thousands of Albanians who left the country last year, mainly to Germany, in search of better life.
Eurostat reports that of the 38,400 first instance decisions issued to Albanians from April to December 2015, only about 740 were positive.
Since late 2015, Germany has repatriated hundreds of Albanian asylum-seekers.
Germany has recently made available €41.5 million to support development projects in Albania in the next couple of years and provided funding for key electricity projects linking Albania to Kosovo and Macedonia.
“Through support to these sectors agreed with the Albanian government, we want to provide contribution to the country’s economic development. This would also especially give the younger generation a perspective to live in their own country and prevent above all the departure of qualified Albanians,” German ambassador to Albania Susanne Schà¼tz has said.
Since the late 1980s just before the collapse of Albania’s communist regime Germany has invested about Euro 810 million in development projects, becoming the country’s main donor.
