Germany to repatriate 70 Albanian asylum seekers

The German Embassy in Tirana announced on Tuesday that 70 persons from Albania whose asylum requests have been denied will arrive in Tirana airport on Wednesday.

"We inform that on Wednesday, a charter plane departing from Kassel will arrive at Tirana airport with 70 repatriated persons," said the German Embassy in its press release.

The German Ambassador to Tirana, Hellmut Hoffmann, has often repeated calls for Albanian people not to leave Albania to seek asylum in Germany because German government considers Albania a safe country, according to Albanian Daily News.

"Based on the increasing number of Albanian asylum seekers in Germany - only in June this year nearly 5,900 Albanians sought asylum - the German and Albanian parties are intensifying their efforts in the fight against illegal migration," declared Hoffmann.

Hoffmann said that the number of Albanian asylum seekers in Germany reached 5,900 in June only. He reiterated once again that there is no economic asylum.

"Therefore, Albanians' applications for asylum practically have no hope to be recognized as such in Germany or any other country of the European Union," underlined Hoffmann.

Hoffmann underlined that improvised tents have been established in Germany to shelter the asylum seekers from the Western Balkans and it is being aimed to accelerate procedures and repatriate these citizens to their homeland within four weeks.