Number of Georgian asylum seekers in EU decreases
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The number of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in EU member states has significantly decreased, the Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the Georgian Parliament Tamar Khulordava said.
As she pointed out, the situation has significantly improved in Germany where the number of asylum seekers has concerned local politicians and has posed something of a threat to the visa-free regime with the EU.
"We are working with Germany to bring Georgia onto the list of secure countries. There is the political will expressed by the German entities but this is a process requiring a certain period of time. Due to the fact that Germany is a federal republic, the decision should be approved at the level of the federal lands as well. Germany recognises that Georgia should be on the list of secure countries. Now there are a number of bureaucratic procedures that need to be implemented,” Khulordava said.
In May 2018, only 176 Georgian citizens asked for asylum in Germany, while the figure in April was up to 700.
Between January-May of this year, 2,263 Georgian citizens asked for asylum in Germany, which makes for 3,3 percent of all requests for asylum status in the country.
The number of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in Germany has decreased dramatically in May, compared to the previous data, the statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany has revealed.
The State Minister for Asylum, Migration and Administrative Simplification of Belgium Theo Francken has arrived in Georgia to discuss migration and several related issues with state officials of Georgia.
Georgian Interior Minister has discussed steps taken by Georgia towards reducing asylum seekers from the country with his German colleague Horst Seehofer pointing out that there is a positive dynamic in terms of a decrease in their number.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Deutsche Welle that Germany intends to add Georgia and Armenia to the list of safe countries, which means that no one from those countries will receive asylum in Germany.According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany, 3,462 citizens of Georgia and 3,857 citizens of Armenia applied for asylum in Germany last year.
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that threats coming from the possibility of Georgian asylum seekers cooperating with members of organised crime have been ‘neutralised’ as the result of ‘effective cooperation’ with the country’s European partners.
The new format was announced by PM Bakhtadze last month. The format will entail a meeting between the Georgian PM and EU President once a year to assess the progress made by Georgia on its way to the EU and involve different ministers upon necessity.
German and Georgian officials believe that putting Georgia on the list will decrease the number of Georgian asylum seekers in Germany, as well as the illegal stay of Georgians in the country, which may create threats to the Georgia-EU visa waiver.
Representative of the International Organization for Migration Marc Hulst says that the number of Georgian asylum seekers in the EU member states is decreasing, which benefits the Georgian-EU visa waiver agreed upon last year.