There is disagreement in the traffic light coalition on the question of whether and how organizations for sea rescue and care for refugees should be supported.
The Ministry of Finance does not want to include any new funds for sea rescue in the Mediterranean in its draft for the 2024 federal budget. If federal money were to flow again, the Bundestag would have to decide on this, the German Press Agency learned from people close to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). There are different opinions in the federal government when it comes to supporting such organizations. For example, there are doubts as to whether smuggling crime would not be indirectly supported with German tax money.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also recently distanced himself from public financing of sea rescue of refugees by aid organizations in the Mediterranean. The Foreign Office, led by the Greens, however, wants to continue to support them in the coming years.
According to the Foreign Office, three organizations for sea rescue and care for migrants will be funded this year. According to the plan, together they will receive two million euros. The Finance Ministry said that these funds were approved last year by the Bundestag and not by the federal government. The Budget Committee is free to decide accordingly again this year.
Source: Stern
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