German minister to Serbians: Don't even try to seek asylum

German minister to Serbians: Don't even try to seek asylum

BELGRADE -- German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere says Serbia is designated a safe country of origin so it makes no sense for its citizens to seek asylum in Germany.

"I am telling the citizens of Serbia: do not even try, you will be returned," de Maiziere told a joint press conference after a meeting he and his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve had with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on Tuesday.

He recalled that Germany and France agreed in 2009 to introduce a visa-free regime for the citizens of Serbia travelling to EU countries.

"This is good and should remain so, but the number of asylum seekers has gone up almost 20 percent, de Maiziere said and stated that in 2014, there had been around 120,000 asylum requests in Germany alone, and most of them had been from Serbia. This is not a good trend," he stressed.

Precisely because of that, Germany has launched an initiative to adopt a law to designate Serbia as a safe country of origin and it is satisfied that the move has been welcomed by Serbia, said de Maiziere.

"Serbia is on the road to the EU, it is a safe country of origin, and it means that no asylum will be granted to its citizens," the German minister said.

He said "a public information campaign would be launched to explain to the people in Serbia that there was no point or reason to seek asylum in Germany."