The municipalities are demanding more money from the federal government for the accommodation of refugees. Interior Minister Faeser refers to billions that have already been paid. She rejects an upper limit for the number of refugees.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser cannot understand the demands of the municipalities for more money from the federal government for the accommodation of refugees and migrants. “I find it strange that it is already being said – at the beginning of April this year – that the money for this year is not enough,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“The federal government made a lot of money available last year – 4.4 billion euros. We also took over the social benefits for the refugees from Ukraine.” For this year, the federal government promised the states and municipalities 2.75 billion euros in additional support at an early stage.
Faeser referred to a federal-state summit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on May 10 to discuss refugee costs.
Municipalities are demanding more governance and funding
Representatives of the municipalities react disappointed to Faeser’s statements. The German Association of Towns and Municipalities laments the lack of a long-term strategy. The President of the German District Association, Reinhard Sager, accused Faeser of refusing to work in limiting the immigration of asylum seekers with no prospects of staying.
The numbers mentioned by Faeser are correct, but the money does not go directly to the municipalities, but to the states, according to the general manager of the Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg. The effort for more than 200,000 daycare and school places for refugee children from Ukraine is not sufficiently taken into account. “In addition, it has so far remained completely unclear what funds will be made available in 2024,” criticized Landsberg.
Bayern accuses Faeser of “denial of reality”.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann therefore accuses Faeser of denying reality. “It is obvious that the financial support from the federal government for the accommodation and integration of refugees is not enough for this year. The federal states and municipalities are in complete agreement on that,” said the CSU politician to the German Press Agency. Faeser’s most recent statements on migration policy bear witness to “a new dimension of denial of reality”.
“The Federal Minister of the Interior’s ostrich manner is breathtaking. Either she has completely lost track of the costs or it is simply a denial of reality,” criticized Herrmann. This is not a sound way of doing business and not a forward-looking budgetary policy. He is particularly annoyed that Faeser is clearly against limiting migration and at the same time rejects better support from the municipalities. It is “already dampening the expectations for the upcoming refugee summit in May. That is not only outrageous, but also absolutely illogical.”
Faeser: “No maximum limits for humanity”
Faeser had previously admitted that the situation in the municipalities was very difficult. The situation must be dealt with together. She refused to limit the number of refugees. “We are experiencing a terrible war in the middle of Europe. Eight out of ten refugees come from Ukraine. There can be no upper limit for humanity there.”
Harsh criticism also came from the opposition. “These statements by the interior minister are simply a denial of reality,” said the domestic policy spokesman for the Union faction, Alexander Throm (CDU), the German Press Agency. The minister is apparently unaffected by the fact that the municipalities are at their breaking point and are doing great things in helping the refugees from Ukraine. The municipalities rightly demanded that the traffic light government do something about the increasing irregular migration. Because that is a task for which the federal government alone is responsible.
Faeser warned that children and young people among the war refugees had to be cared for “as well as possible” so that they did not commit crimes. “People who have fled the war bring terrible experiences with them. Such experiences of violence can have lasting effects.”
A third of the more than one million Ukrainian refugees in Germany are under 18 years old. This is also visible in the crime statistics. “Last year we had over 3,700 suspected children and young people from Ukraine. In 2021, before Putin’s war, there were a few hundred,” said the minister.
Source: Stern
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