Before the federal-state meeting on migration, the municipalities spoke up. They are calling for a migration code that would bring together all measures on the topic, and digital refugee ID cards.
Before the Prime Minister’s Conference, the Association of Cities and Municipalities called for the introduction of a migration code to collect all immigration policy measures. “We advocate a migration code in which the various measures for the different groups, as well as benefits and possible sanctions, are conclusively described,” said managing director Gerd Landsberg to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany.
“The principles of ‘taxing, ordering, limiting, integrating and sustainably financing’ must finally be implemented in concrete legislative measures,” said Landsberg. “You have to be honest: there is no easy or short-term solution; it is a matter of putting the various building blocks together to achieve the necessary results.”
Digital Refugee ID card
Landsberg also spoke out in favor of a nationwide digital ID card for refugees. This should be able to “specify identity, status and, if necessary, professional knowledge or special health requirements”.
He also called for a “restart in migration policy”. A large proportion of cities and municipalities have long been “above the performance limit in terms of accommodation, care and integration”. Sustainable financing is needed. “The federal government must do much more here and, in particular, show a long-term perspective so that cities and municipalities finally have planning security.”
Top meeting in the Chancellery
The state prime ministers are discussing today with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among other things, the future course of migration policy. This involves both the goal of reducing the number of asylum seekers entering the country and the distribution of funds by the federal and state governments. The states and municipalities are unanimously pushing for more financial support from the federal government.