The latest from Europe on the flood of "war" refugees has the German government vowing to crack down on fake Syrian refugees who are actually economic immigrants.

Germany says that at least one thrid of the refugees claiming to be from Syria are actually arriving from "safe" countries who are not at war. 

Boston Globe:

German officials said Friday that nearly a third of all asylum seekers arriving in the country appear to be falsely claiming to be Syrian, even as Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière called on European nations to take radical new steps to curb the region’s refugee crisis.

So far this year, Germany has received 527,000 asylum seekers — more than any other nation in Europe.

Tobias Plate, an interior ministry spokesman, acknowledged estimates Friday that 30 percent of the asylum seekers are those hailing from another country but claiming to be Syrian. Given the civil war raging in Syria, roughly 87 percent of Syrians are winning asylum in Germany.

Plate said that the number was an estimate based on the perceptions of authorities on the ground, including the German Federal Police, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, and Frontex, Europe’s border agency.

‘‘It is an indication,’’ he said in Berlin, of how hard it is to know the true nationalities of asylum seekers, many of whom arrive without passports.

In an interview on Friday, de Maizière, a longtime ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel and one of the key figures dealing with the refugee crisis in Germany, said Europe needs to enact sweeping changes to its refugee system.

He added that German attempts to aid refugees had been misinterpreted by migrants in far-flung 

nations such as Afghanistan as a green light to come to Europe. That, he said, needs to change.

‘‘We cannot close Europe,’’ he said. But, he added, ‘‘we cannot open Europe totally for millions and millions of poor people in the world or even for all of those coming from conflict zones. Impossible.’’

Germany is moving to slash cash benefits for asylum seekers, instead offering in-kind assistance such as food. De Maizière also said it would take years before refugees in Germany would be able to bring close family members into the country.

‘‘The number is too big,’’ he said. ‘‘It has to be checked.’’

To date, its welcoming policies and lucrative benefits have made Germany by far the most popular destination for refugees coming to Europe, a situation some European leaders have said Berlin brought on itself by adopting such a generous stance.

Merkel is now paying for her stupidity in flinging open the doors of Germany to the world. What's even worse, is that other EU nations are paying for that stupidity. even more. Countries like Slovakia and Hungary, being overrun by refugees, are not large nations nor are they rich. Germany thinks it can absorb a million immigrants a year for 5 years but the rest of Europe hears that and panics. 

Recognizing that hundreds of thousands of economic immigrants would bankrupt her country, Merkel, belatedly, is taking steps to tighten asylum requirements  for new arrivals. But it's already too late. Her thoughtless policy of welcoming all refugees will doubtless change the national character of Germany in the near future.