Germany sending hundreds of refugees back to Austria each day

Germany has been sending hundreds of refugees back to Austria each day as per the Dublin Regulation including 260 on Sunday alone, local media reported Monday.

The Austria Press Agency quoted a spokesperson from the German federal police headquarters in Munich as saying that a main reason for the higher number of rejections of refugees is due to a more orderly approach at its border with Austria that has been implemented over the past few weeks.

A police spokesperson from the state of Upper Austria confirmed that since the beginning of the year about 200 refugees have been sent back each day, particularly as they had not intended to make an application for asylum in Germany but wanted to travel onward first such as to Sweden or Denmark.

Up until the end of 2015 the number of persons sent back to Austria daily had usually been in the double digits when German police generally allowed those seeking to travel onward through.

Austria in turn has also been persistently rejecting the entry of persons into its territory via Slovenia who do not intend to seek asylum in Austria. A spokesperson for the interior ministry said it is "not automatic that anyone who wants to travel through Austria can do so," though noted that this does not apply where persons do intend to seek asylum in Austria.

A police spokesperson in the state of Carinthia also confirmed that 1,652 people wishing to enter via Slovenia have been denied entry since the beginning of the year, citing a lack of documents or credibility in their claims as main reasons for rejections. Endit