The number of asylum requests in Germany for the month of March decreased by 66 percent, to about 20,000, German interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced Friday.
In September we received 120,000 asylum applications, 60,000 in February, and in March 20,000 people sought asylum, Maiziere said, a month after the countries along the "Balkan route" closed their borders to refugees who wanted to go to the EU, above all Germany.
According to MIA, Maiziere estimated that the EU-Turkey deal, at Germany's proposal, which stopped the flow of refugees to Europe, is a "good start."
According to him, despite the positive developments, it is still too early to give estimates for the entire year.
"We still do not know if other alternative routes can be established, like the one that leads from Libya to Italy and how Italy will react", warns the German minister.