German chancellor Angela Merkel has set out tough plans to speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers, including a repatriation centre to handle difficult cases and increased cash inducements for those leaving voluntarily.
The proposals come amid widespread public concern about the influx of 1.2m migrants. Ms Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrat/Christian Socialist bloc and its coalition partners, the Social Democrats, under Martin Schulz, their popular new leader, are under pressure from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany in advance of September’s parliamentary election.
In a sign of political pressure, the plans are significantly tougher than proposals presented a month ago in the wake of the Berlin Christmas market terrorist attack allegedly carried out by a failed Tunisian asylum seeker.