The German parliament (Bundestag) voted in favor of adopting a draft law that classifies Georgia and three Maghreb states – Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco as safe countries of origin. Deutsche Welle published this information.

A total of 509 parliamentarians supported the draft law.

As German media reports, under the new rules, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Georgia would be presumed to be safe countries, making it very difficult for their nationals to apply for asylum in Germany. Introducing the legislation to the Bundestag, conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer argued that the amendments only acknowledged what was already a reality.

“Countries of safe return are those where refugees have a very remote chance of being granted asylum,” Seehofer told parliamentarians. “Classifying countries as such accelerates the asylum application process and allows us to terminate stays in Germany when applications are rejected.”

Seehofer pointed out that applications from the four countries in question had very low success rates, ranging from 2.3 percent in the case of Morocco to a mere 0.3 percent for Georgia. He also argued that the new rules would allow Germany to concentrate its asylum evaluations on those in need.

“That’s the deeper sense behind this legislation,” Seehofer said. “We can then devote more time, concentration and more energy to deal with applications from people truly needing protection and to integrate them into our society.”

The vast major of laws with a widespread impact in Germany requires the approval of the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, which is made up of representatives of Germany’s 16 federal states. With the Greens forming parts of the government in nine of those states, they’re in a position to scupper the deal.

Voting in Bundesrat will be held on February 15.