This comes as the number of asylum seekers settling in Germany continues to rise, along with the number of fatalities from those making the desperate voyage from Africa to Europe by sea.
Germany's Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere put forward the proposals to open up asylum processing centres in North African countries, in order to give people an avenue to "come to Europe legally," according to German newspaper Die Welt.
As refugee/migrant boat numbers soar, Germany leads calls for processing #refugees in Africa http://t.co/hMakhCImR4 pic.twitter.com/Fxh3bJJ3uN
— Gerry Simpson (@GerrySimpsonHRW) February 27, 2015
On top of allowing people a safer passage to Europe, Mr de Maiziere said it would also help to crack down on those who profit from organising the often-deadly people smuggling trips.
The proposals come amid ongoing efforts to tackle people smuggling and prevent people from travelling to Europe by sea, with the EU working with a number of African countries in helping to set up and run reception centres, which identify those asylum seekers fleeing war-torn countries and help them relocate to Europe.
The idea isn't considered to be new in Germany, with similar proposals being floated around for the past decade due to the increase in asylum seekers travelling to Europe from Africa.
Some commentators in Germany see the proposals as almost an admission from the government that there is very limited legal ways for asylum seekers to enter Europe, with many turning to risky cross-sea voyages.
It's thought the proposals to establish refugee processing centres in North Africa are partly a reaction to the increasing numbers of migrants in Germany, with many towns struggling to accommodate the influx of asylum seekers.
It's been reported that in some towns in Germany, people are being housed in emergency accommodation in shelters, gyms and schools due to a lack of infrastructure.
EU member countries were heavily criticised by Amnesty International (AI) in the group's annual report on human rights, released earlier this week, which noted that out of the 4 million Syrian refugees forced to leave the country amid the recent conflict, only 150,000 had been resettled in EU countries.
Top 5 hosts of #Syria-n #refugees in Europe 1 #Germany 2 #Sweden 3 #Netherland 4 #Serbia 5 #Austria http://t.co/QGElxCXnSK
— UNHCR United Kingdom (@UNHCRUK) February 23, 2015
Amnesty International noted that this limited acceptance of refugees was leading to many making the dangerous and illegal journey across the Mediterranean.
UN statistics estimated that 3,400 refugees and migrants lost their lives in 2014 while crossing the Mediterranean, with people smugglers often charging exorbitant amounts for people to be put on crowded, unsafe boats.
