The ongoing
refugee crisis could result in a stronger Germany, the country's new
coordinator for refugees says. But he called for migrant policy to be
streamlined to allow a focus on those who needed the most help.
Deutsche Welle, 11 Oct 2015
"I
believe that when we have successfully managed the refugee crisis, Germany will
be stronger than ever before," Peter Altmaier told German newspaper
"Bild am Sonntag" in an interview published on Sunday.
Altmaier,
who this month was put in charge of the government response to the influx of
refugees coming to Germany, said the feeling of identity and self-confidence in
the country had reached its highest level since the Second World War, and that
a positive approach to refugees would increase it even further.
"I am
convinced that many of those who are coming to us now as children and teenagers
will be enthusiastic Germans in 20 years from now," Altmaier added.
 |
| Altmaier reiterated that Germany would not impose a 'refugee tax' |
His remarks
echo much-cited comments by Chancellor Angela Merkel this week that the crisis
is "manageable."
'No threat
to employment'
He also
rejected fears that the influx of refugees could lead to unemployment.
"Leading
economists predict that the immigration will create new jobs. And tens of
thousands of young refugees will take jobs and training placements for which
there have been no suitable applicants for years because the labor market was
swept clean," he said.
However,
Altmaier, who is also Merkel's chief of staff, also said bureaucracy had to be
reduced and the asylum process speeded up, while those who did not truly need
asylum should be quickly sent home.
Among other
things, he said the government would soon decide on so-called "transit
zones" in which authorities would decide on asylum applications before
applicants entered the country, allowing those ineligible for asylum to be sent
back to their home countries more rapidly. However, Altmaier said that such
zones, though "a sensible element," could not solve the problem on
their own.
Refugee
influx 'cannot be turned off'
Altmaier
also rejected calls from the Bavarian conservative party CSU, which forms a
part of the ruling coalition, for an upper limit to be imposed on the number of
refugees coming to Germany, saying there was no viable way of doing so.
"We
have to understand that you can't turn the influx of refugees on and off like a
tap," he said.
CSU leader
Horst Seehofer has continued his outspoken criticism of Merkel's migrant policy, telling newspaper "Die Welt" that "the current influx
has overwhelmed us."
He said his
stance had "nothing to do with racism and xenophobia."
Germany
says it expects up to 800,000 refugees to arrive in the country this year.
tj/jlw (epd, AP, AFP)
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