BERLIN: Germany has received 450,000 refugees so far this year, out of 800,000 expected to arrive in 2015, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economics Sigmar Gabriel said here on Thursday.
The minister said that in the first eight days of September, Germany received 37,000 asylum seekers, while in the previous month they accepted 105,000.
During a speech to parliament for the general debate on the budget of 2016, the minister stressed that “migration cannot be prohibited or prevented”, and it is urgent to establish legal access to Europe and create an alternative to trafficking networks.
He said that he recommends urgent progress on the subject of an immigration bill in Germany, adding that it is also necessary to campaign on this issue in Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has postponed the debate for an immigration law until there is greater clarity on the arrival of refugees and it can be discussed with greater objectivity.
Moreover, Gabriel said the country can handle the refugee crisis without cutting benefits or raising taxes, as the government is committed to its economic and financial policy, and has not contracted new debts, with the German economy in solid growth.
Gabriel saidd that the entry of refugees into the labour market can solve one of Germany’s greatest problems: the lack of qualified labour.
