The Foreign Office has contradicted a media report about the controversial financing of private sea rescuers. The government will not stop the payments in 2024, a spokesman said – they are planned until 2026.
The Foreign Office has denied a report in the “Bild” newspaper that no more payments from the federal budget to civilian sea rescuers are planned next year. “The media reports are incorrect,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told the ARD capital studio. The Foreign Office is implementing the Bundestag’s mandate to promote civil sea rescue with projects on land and at sea.
The “Bild”, citing circles in the Bundestag’s budget committee, reported that the Federal Chancellery was against further payments and that the Foreign Office saw it similarly. Citing the Federal Foreign Office’s partial budget, there is no longer any mention of financial support for private sea rescuers – unlike the budget for 2023.
Funding planned until 2026
“Due to a technical oversight, the corresponding budget resources were not explicitly estimated in the current draft of the 2024 budget,” the spokesman continued. It has been planned for several weeks to correct this as part of the further budget process. It went on to say: “Promotion of sea rescue with commitment authorizations from the Bundestag is also planned for the years 2024 to 2026. We will implement these.”
Scholz distanced himself
It was only on Friday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) distanced himself from public financing of sea rescue of refugees by aid organizations. At a press conference after the informal EU summit in Granada, he emphasized that the money had been approved by the Bundestag and not by the federal government. “I didn’t make the request,” he said. When asked what his personal opinion was on this, he added: “That is my opinion that I did not submit the application. And I think that is unmistakable.”
Conflict with Italy
Scholz had previously met on the sidelines of the summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who complained about the financing in a letter to the Chancellor a few days ago. The aid also put a strain on negotiations about reforming the European asylum system. Rome sees it as interference in domestic Italian affairs that the federal government wants to support aid organizations that look after migrants not only in the Mediterranean but also on Italian soil.