German Interior Minister Horst Zehver announced his intention to take a tougher approach to rejected refugees.

"In this regard, I support more distress," said the leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Party.

"They should only be given in-kind benefits if they do not voluntarily return home," said the former Bavarian prime minister.

Zehover expressed his conviction that "connecting centers" in which asylum-seekers would be accommodated throughout the course of their proceedings would "significantly reduce immigration to Germany."

At the same time, Zohofer denied the charge that the refugees would be held in camps like these. "These are fairy tales," he said, adding that there was a duty for refugees to live in their places of residence and that they would only receive benefits if they stayed at the hostel.