The German government estimates that this year reached the average
country million asylum seekers, after the nearly 1.1 million who entered
in 2015, according to information published today by the newspaper
"Rheinische Post".
According to the media, citing sources in the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, has informed the department in charge of processing applications that must have this year will reach 500,000 refugees, a figure that is presented as guidance.
Neither the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the BAMF been made public officially the forecasts shuffled after last year all projections took into the air at the end of summer, with waves of asylum seekers crossing the road from southern Europe towards Germany.
The director of the BAMF took stock of the management of his department ten days ago in Berlin and warned that there is a cap of between 670,000 and 770,000 cases pending in the country.
That figure includes between 300,000 and 400,000 refugees who have entered Germany and it is estimated that still not been formally submitted his application for asylum by the administrative breakdown or personal reasons.
Given this situation, and despite internal criticism, Chancellor remains committed to a European solution to the crisis, with an eye to the Summit of Heads of State and Government taking place this week in Brussels.
Speaking to the television station n-tv, the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was not too optimistic about the meeting of the European Council.
"We have no alternative but to try to convince and continue to defend the need for a European burden sharing," he said.
According to data provided by the European Commission on February 10, only 497 people have been relocated from the total of 160,000 asylum seekers who agreed they were redeployed from Greece to Italy among European partners within two years.
Merkel is scheduled to meet before the Council with a group of partners willing to offer Turkey the host refugee populations, once that country is able to show stem the outflow of illegal immigrants from its shores to Europe.