According to a report, none of the federal funds promised for 2023 for the accommodation and care of refugees has yet reached the municipalities. The Federal Ministry of Finance and the German District Association informed the editorial network Germany on request.
The reason for the lack of the promised 2.75 billion euros is the lack of a legal basis. In the first quarter, the federal states and municipalities therefore made advance payments.
The money for the refugees will be provided from a sales tax distribution – but the legal basis for this will only be created at the federal level in the course of the year, a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Finance told the RND. In addition, a legal framework must also be agreed at state level in order to organize the distribution of the money among the municipalities.
The talks for these basics are currently underway in most countries, the RND reported, citing its own survey of the interior ministries of all federal states. From North Rhine-Westphalia it was said, for example, that the state was initially supporting the municipalities with state funds from a special fund.
The state governments can have such payments reimbursed by the federal government. However, according to information from the federal states, it is already becoming apparent that the funds announced by the federal government will not be sufficient. (AFP)
