A top German court has ruled that two asylum seekers can be deported back to Greece despite the shortcomings in its immigration system. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig said it would not be inhumane or degrading for the migrants, one born in Gaza and the other in Somalia, to return.

Both men, in their 30s, were granted protection status in Greece. However, this did not give them enough access to state support. The Federal Office then rejected their German applications for asylum for Migration and Refugees, a decision upheld by an administrative court in Hesse. While the court acknowledged the Greek asylum system did have failings, it said the young, able-bodied men should be able to deal with them.

A Federal Administrative Court press release announcing the decision read: "It cannot be expected with any significant probability that able-bodied, healthy, and single young male beneficiaries of protection returning to Greece will find themselves in extreme material hardship, preventing them from meeting their most basic needs in terms of accommodation, food, and hygiene."

The court said the men would "likely" be able to find "temporary shelters or emergency accommodations with basic sanitary facilities"

It added: "They can cover their other basic needs, including food, through their own earned income, initially at least in the so-called informal economy, supplemented by support services from the aforementioned organisations if necessary. Emergency medical care and first aid are guaranteed."

This comes after incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany will decrease the number of asylum seekers by 54% to prevent schools and hospitals from becoming "overwhelmed".

The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) pledged to bring down asylum figures, which have already fallen by almost a third in the last year, in a bid to ease the strain on public services.

He told a German TV show: "Our position is that these figures need to significantly come down. It can no longer be a six-digit figure – towns, communities, schools, hospitals and infrastructure are overwhelmed."