TIRANA, Nov. 7 – In a visit to Tirana, Germany’s interior minister gave a clear message to the Albanian public: It’s useless to make an effort to seek asylum in Germany. It won’t be granted.
Thomas de Maiziere urged Albanians to stop going to Germany to seek political asylum as their claims are considered groundless and will be rejected.
De Maiziere expressed “great concern” over the fact that about 50,000 Albanians have asked for asylum in Germany this year, coming second only to Syrian refugees.
The German minister said Albanians migrate to Germany to seek jobs and improve their living standards, not to escape persecution.
He added that all requests would be denied in a faster, three-week process, after Albania was included in a list of safe countries.
“There is no reason for Albanians to ask for political asylum,” he said. “Their country is democratic.”
The minister said Germany and Albania are working on projects to get Albanians legal jobs in Germany.
The two countries’ interior ministers also discussed on a closer cooperation among their institutions in the fight against organized crime and corruption.
Germany will deploy a contact officer starting next January.
The report came out as Germany resumed the deportation of hundreds of Albanians who had failed in their asylum bids. Nearly 1,000 have been flown back in the past two weeks.
