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Berlin — Germany’s Interior Ministry expressed doubts yesterday about a newspaper report saying up to 1.5 million asylum seekers are expected to arrive in the country this year.
The daily Bild reported yesterday that the number of migrants, mainly from war zones in the Middle East and Africa, entering Germany would be almost double the current official forecast of about 800,000. It cited confidential internal government projections for the report.
“The number arriving in September is likely to be very high — the highest in years,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Harald Neymanns said, but added it was not possible to confirm the Bild estimate.
The number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany surged after Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the country was ready to accept all refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict.
“We still assume that the winter months will result in the migration pressure dropping,” Neymanns said, adding that Monday’s talks between the European Union and Turkey could also possibly have an impact on the number of asylum seekers heading to Germany.
In its report, Bild quoted the confidential government projections, which concluded: “Migratory pressures will increase further. We now expect 7,000 to 10,000 illegal border crossings every day in the fourth quarter.”
“The high number of asylum seekers runs the risk of becoming an enormous burden for the states and municipalities,” the Bild report said. It predicted the numbers of newcomers would reach 920,000 between October and December, Bild said. — AP
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