Germany’s designated interior minister, Horst Seehofer, has announced he has a “master plan” to speed up asylum procedures and deportations.
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, he said: “The number of deportations must be increased significantly. We need to take tougher action, especially in the case of criminals and perpetrators among asylum seekers”.
As reported by Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, Seehofer, who has been critical of German Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s immigration policies, said decisions on asylum applications must be made in a few months rather than in a year or more.
The new chancellor will be the same as the old one: Christian Democrat (CDU) Angela Merkel. It will be her fourth term as leader of the German government and the third time she heads up a grand coalition between the CDU, its conservative Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD). It is also expected to be her last term as chancellor, according to DW.
The head of the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) vowed to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy toward criminals.
“We want to remain an open-minded and liberal country. But when it comes to protecting our citizens, we need a strong state. I’ll make sure of that,” said Seehofer.
The future interior minister also called for effective video surveillance at every hot spot in the country.