Germany Seeking To Limit Number Of Refugees Crossing Into EU - Interior Minister

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has proposed a stricter EU asylum policy that will improve the vetting of refugees on the EU's external border and fast-track pushbacks.
"We will ensure proper identification, registration and verification of people coming to the EU's external border," Faeser told the Handelsblatt daily in an interview published Friday.

Faeser said EU nations made a "significant breakthrough" by agreeing a protocol that will streamline screenings and are negotiating further procedures that will make it easier to identify those with weak asylum cases before they enter the EU.

"In that way, rejected asylum seekers will be driven away faster from the EU's external borders," she explained.

The EU will also seek to reach agreements with origin countries to speed up repatriations of irregular migrants and ease legal entry for skilled workers.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees estimates that almost 81,000 filed for asylum in Germany in the first three months of this year. The figure does not include Ukrainians, who are entitled to unconditional protection in the EU.