SIRIAN CRISIS

Comment the graph>


 
 
“Wir schaffen das!” was the collective cry in Germany in the summer as Angela Merkel opened the borders to all Syrian asylum seekers.
But over the coming months, “we can do this” became gradually replaced by doubt, resentment and fear as the government performed U-turn after U-turn on the policies that had distinguished it from the rest of Europe.

Putting up border controls 

There was widespread praise for Angela Merkel’s opening of the border to all Syrians in August but border controls with Austria were reintroduced in mid-September and the arrival of 1.1 asylum seekers by the end of the year raised concerns about housing and infrastructure.
The Chancellor has since pledged to “drastically decrease” the number of people arriving in the country, which remains the destination for the bulk of migrants still crossing the Aegean to Europe in their thousands every day.

The number of asylum applications received in 2014 in European Union (EU) Member States has risen by 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2013. A quarter of the applicants are of Afghan, Eritrean or Syrian origin, and a similar proportion are under 18 years of age. There have also been many more asylum applications from stateless people, with an estimated total of 436,000 people across the European Union. Germany continues to be the recipient of the largest number of asylum applications, followed by France, Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom.