On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet recognized the Eastern European countries of Georgia and Moldova as “safe countries of origin”, a move meant to curtail irregular migration. Georgia and Moldova were awarded this designation due to the absence of a generalized fear of state persecution among their populations, in accordance with the definition of a “safe country of origin” delineated by the EU law.
This decision has been met with disapproval by the refugee rights group PRO ASYL, which argues that it provides a faster route for the German government to dismiss asylum applications from these two nations, resulting in expedited deportations. According to German Ministry of Interior, the goal of this move is to speed up asylum procedures.
The redesignation comes amid a steep increase in asylum seekers in Germany and other EU countries. German Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, pointed out that more than one out of every ten asylum applications Germany receives are from Georgian or Moldovian migrants. This year alone, Georgian nationals filed 6,612 asylum applications in Germany, alongside 1,910 applications from Moldovian nationals.
PRO ASYL cautioned that Georgia and Moldova have areas under Russian occupation, implying places within these countries where nationals may not be safe from persecution. The group argued that the new status fails to consider the augmenting pressure and instability facing both countries due to Russian influence, especially in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Furthermore, PRO ASYL outlined that certain communities within Georgia and Moldova—including LGBTQ+ and Rom*nja populations—experience severe discrimination and marginalization. This fact, they contend, further complicates the assertion of these nations as uniformly safe.
Alongside these designations, Scholz’s government approved a draft law to “modernize” Germany’s citizenship laws on August 23. The new law holds the potential to award citizenship to millions of Germany’s current residents, by shortening residency requirements and redefining the laws around birthrights of German citizenship.
This information was originally reported by JURIST.