In the Lower Bavarian spa town of Bad Griesbach, a dispute over the accommodation of refugees from Ukraine is coming to a head. Mayor Jürgen Fundke has instructed his officials not to register newly arrived Ukrainians. “I don’t want to give the impression that the city is xenophobic,” said the local politician, who belongs to the non-partisan voting community, to the German Press Agency. “On the contrary. People are happy to help and support.” However, refugees need to be distributed more fairly among cities and communities.
Fundke said that he himself helped two Ukrainian families find accommodation in Bad Griesbach. The city is trying. For example, an extension for an additional 28 places has been approved for the asylum seekers accommodation. A total of 108 people could then live there. In addition, around 100 Ukrainians are staying in a former hotel. But when almost 40 more Ukrainians arrived there recently, Fundke said “the end of the flagpole had been reached” for him. The city feels “totally treated unfairly”.
The mayor of Bad Griesbach demanded that all 38 municipalities in the Passau district be equally involved in accommodating refugees. In his city, the schools and kindergartens are full and there is no space left to take in more children. Several media outlets reported on the case.
“The Passau district is aware of the challenges associated with accommodating refugees,” said a spokesman for the district office. However, the office is “obliged to appropriately accommodate people who are seeking protection from war and violence here.” It wants to do this not only based on legal requirements, but also from a human perspective – and if possible without having to take over gymnasiums. Regarding the dispute with Bad Griesbach, the official spokesman said: “For us it is in no way understandable that Mayor Fundke wants to deny these people protection from war and violence by any means possible.”
Fundke is avowedly oblivious to the fact that he is getting into trouble with the district office in Passau. He doesn’t want to “fall out” with the district administrator, but: “I don’t care what anyone does to me.” He also doesn’t shy away from disciplinary proceedings. The newly arrived Ukrainians were also staying in the hotel, but they had not been formally registered, Fundke made it clear.
The Passau district office also says that Bad Griesbach is obliged to report the refugees. “A refusal by the mayor (or a corresponding instruction from him to the residents’ registration office) is unlawful.” District Administrator Raimund Kneidinger (CSU) now wants to talk to the mayor. If this does not lead to a solution, the district office will instruct the mayor to fulfill his legally assigned tasks or instruct his deputy to do so. Otherwise, the district office, as the legal supervisory authority, could take over the registration processing for the city of Bad Griesbach itself. According to the mayor, around 2,300 people of various nationalities live in Bad Griesbach, with a total population of around 9,750.