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Refugee summit under pressure: Fronts between the federal and state governments have hardened

Refugee summit under pressure: Fronts between the federal and state governments have hardened

Many municipalities can hardly handle the care of the refugees. The federal-state summit is therefore about a lot of money – but also about fundamentals in German migration policy.

At a top-level meeting in Berlin this Wednesday, the federal and state governments are looking for solutions to the dispute over the distribution of the costs of caring for refugees. Because the cities and communities in particular are groaning under the financial burden, the states are demanding a higher share from the federal government. However, the latter does not want to inject more money than planned because, from his point of view, he is already contributing disproportionately to the costs. An agreement at the meeting of the country heads with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) (2 p.m.) is considered questionable. Before the meeting, the fronts were hardened.

In the first four months of this year, 101,981 initial asylum applications were received by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) – an increase of 78 percent compared to the previous year. Many municipalities see themselves at the breaking point. Cities and municipalities do not sit directly at the table, the federal states see themselves as representing their interests.

The municipal associations are demanding more money from the federal government from the summit on the one hand, but also steps to limit immigration on the other. “We have to come to a reduction in the number of refugees,” said the chief executive of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, to the news portal “t-online” (Wednesday). The federal government must work towards this with all means. The federal government should permanently and completely assume the costs of accommodation for refugees and reintroduce flat rates for asylum seekers, integration costs and unaccompanied minors as in 2015/2016. Landsberg warned at the same time: “The responsibility and financing bingo between the federal and state governments must come to an end.”

Refugee Summit: German Cities Association formulates demands

The President of the German Association of Cities, Markus Lewe, also demanded that the federal government should again fully cover the costs of accommodation for refugees. In addition, asylum seekers who are required to leave the country and have no prospect of staying in the country would have to be “consistently returned,” Lewe told the editorial network Germany (RND/Wednesday). The general manager of the German district association, Hans-Günter Henneke, warned on “t-online”: “First and foremost, it’s about limiting immigration, but secondarily it’s also about sufficient financial resources for the municipalities.”

The Greens had also campaigned for greater support for the municipalities before the federal-state meeting. “It will take money to cut the knot,” party leader Omid Nouripour told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Wednesday). “People don’t want the federal and state governments to point fingers at each other, they want the problems to be solved,” Nouripour warned.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has so far contradicted demands for more money from the federal government. In the ZDF “heute journal” the FDP leader referred to the 15.6 billion euros in federal support for the states and municipalities this year. However, the minister shares the demands for a change in immigration policy. For years, Germany has not had the control over migration that it needs. “We have made it difficult for people to come to Germany for too long, whom we need as clever minds and hard-working hands. And for too long we have been making it easy for people to stay who are actually obliged to leave the country because they entered Germany irregularly are. And that has to change.” He appealed to the federal states to focus more on benefits in kind instead of money for asylum seekers.

Countries require Olaf Scholz to intervene

The Paritätische Gesamtverband sharply criticized the cost dispute between the federal government on the one hand and the states and municipalities on the other. “Haggling on the backs of people who have fled war and persecution is an undignified spectacle in a rich country,” said the association’s general manager, Ulrich Schneider, the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” (Wednesday ). Schneider described a good financial basis for refugee work as “an imperative of humanity”.

The federal states are entering into talks with Scholz with a basis for consultation that was unanimously approved. “The chancellor must make the issue a top priority, take responsibility and show leadership,” said North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) to the “Tagesspiegel” (Wednesday). “Anyone who decides how to control immigration must also take financial responsibility for their decisions and bear the consequences.” The federal government should no longer shift its responsibility down to the cities, districts and municipalities.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) appealed to the commonality of the federal and state governments. “We have to solve the problems together and everyone has to ask themselves where to pick up and drop off,” she told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday). “We all know what happens when the questions about refugee housing escalate. Nobody can have an interest in that.” Chancellor Scholz also spoke on Tuesday of a “major joint task in a successful federal state” and campaigned for an agreement.

Source: Stern

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