Asylum applications fall by a third in Germany ahead of national elections | DW News

Germany's interior ministry says asylum applications fell by a third last year. In 2023, 322,636 people applied for asylum in Germany. That figure dropped by 34% to 213,499 last year. The new figures come amid a heated debate over immigration ahead of national elections on February 23rd. That's after a string of fatal attacks carried out by foreign nationals in Germany. Conservative leader Friedrich Merz pushed a non-binding motion through parliament last week demanding a further tightening of border controls. That vote caused controversy as it was backed by the far-right AfD party. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated against Merz's move at the weekend because it was seen as breaking a convention of not working with the far-right in parliament. Chapters: 0:00 Germany's asylum applications fall 1:00 Günter Krings, CDU Bundestag member For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ For more news, analysis and background information on the German election 2025 go to our dedicated page: https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-2025/t-70794502 Follow DW on social media: ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dwnews ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1 #cdu #merz #germanelections