https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Germany recorded a steep decline in asylum seeker arrivals in April, official data showed Monday, after the closure of the popular route used by migrants through the Balkans. https://www.thelocal.de/20160509/steep-fall-in-number-of-migrants-arriving-in-germany Mon, 09 May 2016 14:29:15 +0200 steep-fall-in-number-of-migrants-arriving-in-germany Germany's Angela Merkel has protested the closure of the Balkans refugee route -- but critics accuse her government of hypocrisy, as Berlin also tries to reduce the influx. https://www.thelocal.de/20160311/merkel-accused-of-cynicism-of-refugee Fri, 11 Mar 2016 18:20:17 +0100 merkel-accused-of-cynicism-of-refugee German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday criticised an eastern European proposal to close the Balkans refugee route and vowed to push for a plan with Turkey to reduce the influx at an EU summit. https://www.thelocal.de/20160216/merkel-dismisses-plan-to-fence-off-balkans Tue, 16 Feb 2016 17:17:36 +0100 merkel-dismisses-plan-to-fence-off-balkans Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that closing borders within Europe could lead to military conflict in the Balkans as she once again sought to defend her refugee policies on Monday. https://www.thelocal.de/20151103/merkel-warns-of-military-conflict-in-balkans Tue, 03 Nov 2015 10:15:51 +0100 merkel-warns-of-military-conflict-in-balkans Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted on Monday that Germany and Europe's policy towards the large numbers of refugees arriving in 2015 has been "anything but perfect" – but insisted that the country could rise to the challenge. https://www.thelocal.de/20151026/merkel-admits-refugee-policy-far-from-perfect Mon, 26 Oct 2015 18:18:27 +0100 merkel-admits-refugee-policy-far-from-perfect European Union and Balkan leaders struggled Sunday to reduce tensions over how to tackle the migrant crisis at an EU summit involving Germany and other key nations in the migrant crisis. https://www.thelocal.de/20151026/tension-hight-at-eu-balkans-refugee-summit Mon, 26 Oct 2015 10:33:36 +0100 tension-hight-at-eu-balkans-refugee-summit Germany on Tuesday toughened rules for asylum seekers from the Balkans as Europe struggled to cope with a surge in migrants, with new figures showing more than half a million have crossed the Mediterranean this year. https://www.thelocal.de/20150930/germany-will-deport-west-balkan-migrants-faster Wed, 30 Sep 2015 10:21:30 +0200 germany-will-deport-west-balkan-migrants-faster The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday that Europe must work out a fairer way of sharing refugees, days after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the refugee crisis would likely prove a greater political challenge for Europe than Greece. https://www.thelocal.de/20150818/germany-sweden-need-help-with-migrants-un Tue, 18 Aug 2015 13:51:38 +0200 germany-sweden-need-help-with-migrants-un Germany made it harder Friday for people from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia to apply for asylum after lawmakers classified the three Balkan countries as safe, with respect for basic rights. https://www.thelocal.de/20140920/germany-beefs-up-asylum-rules-for-balkans Sat, 20 Sep 2014 12:25:00 +0200 germany-beefs-up-asylum-rules-for-balkans Balkan countries have a "clear prospect" of joining the European Union, but the process will be long, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a podcast released on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.de/20140608/balkan-states-have-clear-prospect-of-joining-eu-merkel Sun, 08 Jun 2014 10:26:00 +0200 balkan-states-have-clear-prospect-of-joining-eu-merkel German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle warned Serbia Thursday that it had no chance of joining the European Union unless it adopted a "cooperative" stance on Kosovo. https://www.thelocal.de/20100826/29415 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:23:00 +0200 29415 German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle embarked Wednesday on a tour of the former Yugoslavia preparing a tough message for Serbia on Kosovo while encouraging the region's European Union ambitions. https://www.thelocal.de/20100825/29399 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:07:00 +0200 29399 A trial opened in Germany on Wednesday with all the elements of a 21st-century spy thriller: the Balkan criminal underworld, betrayal of state secrets and careless pillow-talk to a gay lover. https://www.thelocal.de/20091118/23363 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:26:00 +0100 23363