The European Parliament plans to introduce amendments to the so-called Dublin Regulation, which might result in a growing influx of migrants to Germany, German magazine Der Spiegel reported.
The Dublin Regulation provides for asylum seekers to register in the first EU state they arrive in, with the country then being responsible for processing the application.
However, if the proposed changes are approved, then responsibility for the asylum process could be transferred from the state of arrival to the EU country where the applicant's relatives live.
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As a result, "Germany would have to accommodate significantly more asylum seekers," a note from the Federal Interior Ministry said, adding that any restrictions on refugees would be "nullified."
The European Parliament launched its proposals to reform the Dublin Regulation and other EU asylum provisions in November. Now, the legislation has to be approved by the European Council, which consists of the heads of the EU member states.
Germany has been struggling to manage a massive refugee crisis, which escalated in 2015, with hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in EU member states.
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In 2017, the number of asylum applications significantly decreased compared to previous years.
According to the Ministry of Interior, around 187,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in the first 10 months of 2017. In the same period last year, there were about 694,000 such applications.