Germany Will Allow Syrian Refugees to Stay and Apply for Asylum

A young migrant boy from Syria blows soap bubbles as other migrants seeking asylum in Germany wait to register at the Central Registration Office for Asylum Seekers in Berlin on Aug. 27, 2015.

The new rule comes as Germany is witnessing a surge in attacks on refugee shelters

The Washington Post reports the country has decided to suspend a European Union rule, called the the Dublin Regulation, which says refugees are supposed to stay in the first European country of arrival until their asylum claims are processed. This rule places an unequal burden on Southern European countries like Greece and Italy, which are amongst the easiest to reach by boat from across the Mediterranean. Both Italy and Greece have faced unprecedented levels of migrant inflow this past year.In a move that will affect tens of thousands, Germany will now allow Syrian refugees to stay and apply for asylum instead of deporting them back to their country of arrival.

Under the new policy, even if the refugees first arrive in Greece or Italy but travel northwards Germany, they will not be deported back to their first country of contact.Germany appears to be the only EU country to suspend the Dublin Regulation so far.“This is only the one that we are aware of among the member states at this moment,” the European Commission said.

German chancellor Angela Merkel recently called the migrant crisis a bigger challenge for the EU than the Greek debt. The new rule come at a time when Germany is witnessing a surge in attacks on refugee shelters.

This decision seems was well received by the Syrian community, as evidenced by the outpouring of love notes and messages for Merkel on social media.