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Refugees file suit againt Berlin registration center

Refugees line up on the grounds of the State Office of Health and Social Affairs (Lageso) in Berlin on October 9, 2015, where they wait for their registration. (AFP Photo)

A group of 20 refugees have filed a complaint against Berlin's main migrant registration center for failing to register them promptly so they could get essential benefits.

The group took the case against Lageso registration center to the social court on Monday, complaining that despite waiting for a week, they were still not registered. 

A court spokesman said the refugees were seeking to "put pressure on the authorities" to help them receive social benefits, including a bed in the refugee center, as weather is getting cold.

The court would issue a ruling in the coming days, he added.

Germany is expecting to receive between 800,000 and a million refugees this year, with Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the country "can do it."

Local authorities, however, have repeatedly said they are not ready to deal with the massive influx of refugees.

'Not enough'

In a related development, the head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday that the European Union's current relocation scheme for refugees is "not enough" to address the scope of the problem,.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the current EU scheme to share out 160,000 refugees from Italy and Greece over the next two years had to be broadened and "more legal opportunities" had to be provided to refugees.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres (AFP Photo)

 

"You cannot have a technocratic approach to relocation," he told a news conference in Athens.

Over 600,000 people have arrived in Europe this year and the rate seems to be increasing as conflicts go on.

Only Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans are currently eligible for resettlement under the EU relocation program.

Many refugees have died in the perilous journey to EU.


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