Germany divided on taking in large number of Afghan refugees

A survey commissioned by dpa shows Germans divided on whether the country should extend asylum to a large number of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule, reported dpa.

Some 46 per cent of respondents in the representative survey conducted last week by the YouGov polling firm were against accepting Afghan refugees on a large scale.

A total of 47 per cent favoured granting more Afghans protection.

However, some of those in favour of a generous admission policy had a caveat. One in four said Germany should only be welcoming if other EU states follow suit and take in their share.

Only 22 per cent of Germans would support accepting large numbers of people from Afghanistan even if other EU states did not.

At a meeting last Tuesday, the European Union's interior ministers failed to find a common position on how to deal with migrants from Afghanistan.

States such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark insisted on only offering assistance to displaced persons and refugees in the region, not in Europe.

Some countries in Europe have raised alarm over the prospect of a mass influx of refugees like was seen in 2015. Many were fleeing the conflict in Syria.

The survey questioned 2,017 people in Germany aged 18 and over, from August 27 to August 31. The results were weighted and are representative of the German population aged 18 and over.