Germany to speed up asylum process

Berlin: Germany has unveiled plans to speed up the asylum process, after the governing coalition resolved a rift on the issue, a media report said on Friday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the government would create up to five special centres for asylum-seekers deemed to have little chance of staying, BBC reported.

"We took a good and important step forward," said Merkel, whose open-door refugee policy has come in for strong criticism in Germany.

The issue was discussed for weeks between Merkel's Christian Democrats and junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats.

The five special centres would hold migrants from countries deemed safe, those barred from re-entering Germany, and those refusing to cooperate.

In an accelerated asylum process, cases could be heard in a week, not months, and appeals would take only a further two weeks. Most could expect to be deported.

German authorities expect to receive at least 800,000 asylum seekers by the end of this year.