The federal states want more money from the federal government for the accommodation of refugees – they block it. A paper by the state finance ministers is intended to support the claim. Green leader Lang supported the Report from Berlin the countries.
Before the refugee summit on Wednesday, the tone between the federal and state governments has intensified. According to media reports, there is a paper by the state finance ministers in which they underline their demand for more federal money. The news agency Reuters and the newspapers of the Funke media group report this in unison.
In it, the federal states turn against the argument of the federal government that the federal budget has to shoulder deficits in the billions, while the federal states and municipalities have surpluses. According to the paper, this is only “a temporary phenomenon” caused by the double crisis of the pandemic and the Russian war of aggression.
Accusation of wrong calculations
According to the reports, the federal states also accuse the Chancellery of making incorrect calculations in the internal paper: The monthly per capita flat rate for asylum seekers of 670 euros that will apply until the end of 2021 is now significantly too low. Based on the latest data, around a thousand euros would have to be set, according to the demand.
In fact, the federal government has even reduced its aid in recent years despite the increasing number of refugees, the paper continues. According to the reports, it was sent to the other 15 countries on Sunday evening by the Lower Saxony presidency of the Prime Ministers’ Conference (MPK).
Wüst: The federal and state governments should share the costs
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) called on the federal government to assume at least half of the costs for the accommodation and integration of refugees. “The 16 states have agreed across parties that the federal and state governments should share the costs, i.e. at least 50:50,” said Wüst of the “Rheinische Post” and the Bonn “General-anzeiger”.
So far, North Rhine-Westphalia has received 600 million euros from the federal government, with total costs this year of 3.7 billion euros. At present, only well under 20 percent of the costs are covered by the federal government. The federal government has a duty to the municipalities, said Wüst.
Countries get support from traffic lights
The leader of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, had previously called for more help to the municipalities in caring for refugees. Faster asylum procedures are also needed, but the main problem is the lack of money, she said Report from Berlin the public broadcaster. There is a common interest in good solutions being able to be found locally, emphasized Lang.
So far, the federal government has not been willing to increase its payments, nor is it interested in a return to the system of per capita flat rates. Instead, a draft from the Chancellery for a draft resolution for the meeting calculates how much the federal government is already contributing to refugee-related expenditure.
On Wednesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will meet with the heads of government of the federal states at a special conference to discuss the division of tasks and burdens in caring for refugees.
Number of refugees recently increased
The number of refugees arriving in Germany had recently increased significantly. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022, more than a million people have been registered from Ukraine.
Last year, after a decline in the Corona years, there was an increase in applications in the regular asylum system. Almost 218,000 initial applications were made, 47 percent more than in 2021.
The main countries of origin are still Syria and Afghanistan. In the first few months of this year, the number of asylum applications continued to rise.