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Majority of Germans considers high refugee figures manageable: poll

Xinhua, August 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The majority of Germans believe that Germany can accept the high number of asylum seekers, while suggesting that migrants should be treated differently, German media Spiegel Online reported on Friday.

Germany is expected to receive up to 800,000 asylum seekers by the end of the year, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday, which makes 2015 a record year when it comes to the number of refugees in Germany.

He also noted that Germany should brace for higher number of refugees "for the next few years."

According to a recent poll by German television ZDF, 60 percent of respondents said that Germany can cope with the high number of refugees.

Almost three quarters of respondents are in favor of making a difference between the asylum seekers in placing and asylum procedures, while 23 percent in favor of treating all refugees equally, according to the study.

Meanwhile, about 77 percent of respondents also believe that additional regulations, such as an immigration law, are necessary to control the influx of workers from non-EU countries.

De Maiziere has announced a series of domestic political initiatives to deal with the record-breaking wave of refugees in Germany and urged other European countries to take a more active role in dealing with the refugee issue.

"The asylum standards in the EU countries should be aligned. Germany cannot, on a permanent basis, take on around 40 percent of all refugees in the European Union," he said. Endit