TIRANA, April 30 – While Albanian authorities struggle to understand the causes for the sudden spike in the number of Albanians seeking asylum in Germany, the interior ministers of both countries — Germany’s Thomas de Maziere and Albania’s Saimir Tahiri – said this week Albanian migrants asking for asylum in Germany will be quickly deported.
The wave of asylum seekers has turned into a headache for both countries, and the ministers met to discuss the situation in Berlin.
“My message is clear that there is no chance of getting political asylum in Germany. All Albanians who have come or will come will be returned to their country,” said de Maziere. “There is a proud democracy in Albania and there is no reason for political persecution. We shall do much to erase such a concern.”
Tahiri has gone to Germany following a recent increase of the number of Albanians going to and asking for political asylum or economic one in Germany. There are thousands doing so this year alone.
Tahiri informed his host counterpart of the steps his country is taking to stop such a problem.
“We made it clear there is no political asylum in Germany or any other EU country, for political or economic reasons and we shall do everything to stop such a phenomenon that is disturbing Albania and its partners,” Tahiri said.
The migration wave caused harsh debates last week at the parliament, with the opposition accusing the government of causing the wave through bad governance.
The government has repeated calls to Albanians not to fall prey to traffickers promising asylum in Germany.
Thousands of Albanians have been stopped from crossing the border due to the lack of propper documentation and funds.
Albanians enjoy the visa-free regime for the EU Schengen countries since December 2010 and the recent exodus may serve to push any western European country like Germany to reinstall the visa regime temporarily, a move that worries Albanian authorities.
