In the dispute over the burden on the states and municipalities from the increased number of refugees, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has once again demanded significantly more money from the federal government. “It would be the least if you get the same quotas as in 2016. That would mean doubling,” he said on Sunday evening on the ARD program “Report from Berlin”. According to Wüst, fewer people came from Ukraine in November, December and January, but more people from other countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq or Turkey were coming from month to month. “And that puts pressure on the municipalities – especially when it comes to accommodation,” said Wüst.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai warned in the program that the federal states should pass on the federal funds to the cities and municipalities. “Countries must not have sticky hands here,” he said. What the federal government did for the federal states with regard to the war refugees from Ukraine, Djir-Sarai called “enormous”.
Because of the increased number of refugees in Germany, the states are demanding more help from the federal government. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) invited representatives of the federal states and the municipal umbrella organizations to Berlin last Thursday to talk to them about the accommodation and care of asylum seekers and refugees. However, many were dissatisfied with the results.
In Germany, 217,774 people applied for asylum for the first time last year – more than since 2016.
“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic, analyzed by WELT editors, and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, among others, or directly via RSS feed.
