Germany signalled yesterday that it is prepared to accept twice as many refugees from Kosovo as previously planned. The Interior Minister, Mr Otto Schily, said that he was discussing with the country's 16 federal states the logistics of giving shelter to a further 10,000 ethnic Albanians.
The news comes amid growing disquiet in Germany over the refusal of other European Union member states to accept large numbers of refugees. Only 2,000 deported ethnic Albanians have gone to France and Britain has so far accepted only 330.
Mr Schily's proposal to double Germany's intake came after talks with the Macedonian Interior Minister and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It is not yet clear when the next contingent of refugees will arrive in Germany, or in which federal states they will be settled.
The southern state of Baden Wuerttemberg complained yesterday that almost all the refugees accepted until now have been settled there. The state's interior minister said that, although there had been no problems so far, it was now time for other states to accept their share.
Germans have given generously to charities helping refugees from Kosovo, and many families have offered to house deported ethnic Albanians. The German authorities have sought to keep families together, usually housing them in state-owned apartments.
The refugees have no possibility of claiming asylum in Germany and their visas state explicitly that they must return to Kosovo as soon as it is safe to do so. They are permitted to stay for an initial period of three months, which can be extended at the discretion of the authorities.
Germany accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Bosnia during the civil war there but almost all have since returned home.
President Clinton will meet refugees from Kosovo when he comes to Germany tomorrow following his visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels. The president will visit US soldiers and air crews at bases in Spangdahlem and Ramstein, and will meet the three soldiers who were released from Belgrade at the weekend.
Mr Clinton will hold talks with the Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, on Thursday afternoon.
