Germany’s lower house of the parliament, the Bundestag, has passed a new asylum seekers policy which opposition parties and various refugee organisations have criticised harshly, reports DW.
The main aims of the amended asylum package are to speed up asylum procedures and ensure that rejected asylum applicants quickly return to their home country. As part of the reforms, refugees allowed to stay in Germany should also be provided with better means to integrate into society.
Speaking in the Bundestag on Tuesday, Germany’s Left Party member Jan Korte criticised the policy’s preference of non-cash benefits for refugees upon their initial arrival in Germany and deemed the planned withdrawal of benefits from rejected asylum applicants, if they do not leave the country, as “unconstitutional.” Criticism has also been heard from several refugee and social organisations. Pro Asyl said in a statement that the aforementioned benefits cuts were an “open violation of the constitution.”
