Fire Claims Lives of Four Bulgarians in Germany
A devastating fire in the German town of Solingen has resulted in the tragic loss of four Bulgarian citizens of Turkish origin, including two children
HOT: » Assessing the Legacy of Bulgaria's "Denkov" Cabinet: Achievements, Failures, and What Comes Next
The German government wants to encourage rejected asylum seekers to voluntarily return to their home countries with a cash incentive, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday, Deutsche Welle reported.
For years, Germany has provided rejected asylum seekers and others with financial help to return to their countries, including costs associated with travel and restarting life back home.
On top of that, de Maiziere said families can receive up to ?3,000 ($3,570) and individuals up to ?1,000 if they voluntarily return home by the end of February.
"When you voluntarily decide to return by the end of February, in addition to startup help you can provisionally receive housing cost help for the first 12 months in your homeland," de Maiziere said in a direct appeal to rejected asylum seekers.
Kitchen equipment
According to the news report, in addition to previous payments rejected asylum seekers can receive money in their homeland for rent, building, home renovations or even basic equipment for a kitchen or a bathroom.
The program is called "Your country. Your future. Now!"
"There are opportunities in your homeland. We will support you with concrete help for your reintegration," de Maiziere said.
Pro Asyl's Günter Burkhardt: An "underhanded strategy"
The German refugee organization Pro Asyl slammed the offer, calling it an underhanded strategy.
"[The government] is trying to entice people to give up their rights in the basest manner," managing director Günter Burkhardt told the German news agency DPA on Sunday.
Going underground
De Maiziere's offer comes as Bavaria, which deports the most Afghans of any German state, reports problems in finding the people due to be sent back.
The Bavarian Interior Ministry told the weekly Welt am Sonntag that Afghans who discover that they are about to be deported often disappear days before their flight is to leave. It said it suspected that many of the planned deportees, most of whom it says are criminals, were receiving help from German pro-refugee groups to go underground.
Objections to Syrian deportation plans
Plans floated recently by state interior ministers from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) to restart deportations of Syrians by mid-2018 have meanwhile met with opposition from other leading CDU politicians.
The head of the CDU/CSU bloc in the German parliament, Volker Kauder, told Welt am Sonntag that such deportations were "currently not an issue [for him] with regard to the security situation," adding, however, that "the situation has to be constantly reassessed."
Peter Altmaier, who is chancellery minister and refugee coordinator, also spoke out against the proposal, telling Bild am Sonntag, "The civil war is not over, and many people have fled from the Assad regime, which is still in power."
Altmaier said although many refugees had returned to Iraq, Syria's neighbor, "we haven't seen this development in Syria yet."
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
The European Prosecutor's Office in Sofia has taken legal action against an individual suspected of fraudulent activities involving European subsidies, as announced by the Luxembourg-based institution
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has secured a substantial financial boost from the European Union, receiving over 130 million euros to enhance its ammunition production capabilities
Eurostat's recent publication on Wednesday showed insights into hourly labour costs across the European Union (EU) in 2023, indicating a notable rise compared to the previous year
A major security breach has taken place within the EU police service – Europol, as detailed by the online publication 'POLITICO'
Eurostat's 2021 data indicates that Bulgaria housed the three regions within the European Union exhibiting the highest standardized death rates
Brussels' European District faced significant disruption on Tuesday morning as farmers from various agricultural organizations staged a protest against EU agricultural policy
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022