Excerpt:
German MPs voted on Friday to classify Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria as "safe countries of origin" – meaning that asylum applications will only be accepted under exceptional circumstances.
Under the German constitution, the government can classify countries as safe if "it appears guaranteed that neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment occurs".
"Being able to say no is also a part of helping," Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière told lawmakers in the chamber on Friday morning.