2nd LD Writethru: Germany's ruling coalition agrees on new steps to accelerate asylum

Party leaders of Germany's ruling coalition have agreed on Thursday on plans to establish special registration centers for refugees in Germany, with an aim to speed up asylum procedures for those who have little chance to get asylum.

The plan was announced at a joint press conference by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as coalition party heads Sigmar Gabriel and Horst Seehofer after their summit meeting over refugees on Thursday afternoon.

The German government plans to set up three to five special reception centers across the country. Two of them are set to be established in the southern German state of Bavaria, which has been receiving the bulk of the refugees arriving via the Balkans and Austria.

Asylum applications of people from safe countries of origin, such as the Balkans, will be processed in accelerated procedures in the special centers.

The accelerated process also applies for refugees with a re-entry ban as well as people who make follow-up applications or have no valid identity documents.

Asylum seekers leaving in the registration centers are required to follow a residency rule, meaning they are basically not allowed to leave the district where the centers are located in. Otherwise, their benefits may get cancelled.

Merkel has been under intense pressure to show she is managing the current refugee crisis amid mounting complaints from municipalities in Germany that they are unable to cope with the refugee influx, particular as winter approaches.

Merkel, Gabriel and Seehofer have already met on Sunday to discuss the refugee situation, but failed to hammer out a compromise deal. Endit