federal and state governments
Municipalities: Financing care for refugees on a permanent basis
People displaced from the Ukraine are sitting in a refugee accommodation in the Peine district in Lower Saxony. Photo: Moritz Frankenberg/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In the debate about taking in people displaced from Ukraine, the municipalities are calling for “fair sharing of the burden”. You shouldn’t be stuck with the costs.
Before the federal-state consultations on Thursday, the municipalities are urging the federal government to permanently assume the costs of housing and caring for Ukrainian refugees.
“In addition to 1,000 to 1,200 euros per refugee, the federal government should also assume the costs of accommodation,” said Gerd Landsberg, general manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, the editorial network Germany (RND). Municipalities are willing to do what they can. “But we expect permanent and long-term funding from the federal government,” said Landsberg.
“We need fair burden sharing – the federal and state governments have to decide this at the Prime Ministers’ Conference this week,” said Markus Lewe, President of the German Association of Cities. Already incurred costs for accommodation and future costs would have to be reimbursed, Lewe told the RND. Reinhard Sager, President of the German District Association, demanded “adequate” funding. In addition to the urban districts, the districts are also the “major cost bearers for social and integration services” and should not be left with the costs, Sager warned in the RND.
On Thursday, the prime ministers of the federal states will discuss issues relating to the distribution of Ukrainian refugees and financing with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). At their conference on March 17, the federal and state governments had agreed to approach the admission of war refugees as a joint task. A working group should prepare a decision on the cost issue by April 7th.