Scholz calls for more speed in German asylum procedures

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he wants to see more speed in deciding on asylum applications during a visit to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in Bavaria on Monday.

Scholz also promised political efforts, for example to improve the return of asylum seekers as part of the so-called Dublin Regulation at the European Union level.

"It must be the case that we achieve a change in practice," Scholz said in Nuremberg. He was in "constant dialogue" with his colleagues in several European countries, he added.

Previously, BAMF employees had expressed their dissatisfaction with the current practice to the chancellor. Some countries, including Italy, are currently not accepting any or only a small number of refugees, although they would be obliged to do so under the Dublin agreement.

According to the Dublin Regulation, only one EU country is responsible for examining and processing asylum procedures - usually the country on whose soil the person seeking protection first entered the EU.

Overall, Scholz called for more speed in the processing of asylum applications. This is crucial to achieve greater acceptance among the population, he said.

With regard to digitalization, he said: "We must ensure that we are state of the art."

The number of asylum applications in Germany has fallen again this year, although it remains at a high level. From January to June, 121,000 applications for asylum were made in Germany - almost 20% fewer than in the same period last year. Most of them came from Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey.