Berlin.
Chancellor Scholz calls the countries to the refugee summit this Wednesday. In the run-up there was one thing in particular: a fight. But not only.
Everyone against the federal government, everyone against the chancellor: Shortly before the refugee summit of the federal and state governments, the traffic light government and its leader Olaf Scholz (SPD) became lonely. At the meeting on Wednesday it should be about the future course in the refugee policy go.
In particular, the sharing of costs. The federal states are demanding more money and have taken a joint position against the Berlin government – regardless of which party book the respective prime minister has. In the red-green-yellow government coalition, the first withdrawal movements are becoming apparent. And now Scholz and his Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (also SPD) are also responding to criticism from their own party. An overview.
Refugee Summit on May 10th: What is it all about?
Scholz will meet the Prime Ministers of the federal states at 2 p.m. in the Chancellery. “Current issues in refugee policy” are to be discussed, as the government succinctly puts it. The mood is tense, and both sides have been launching papers for days to make their position clear. It’s about the money – but also, for example, about the question of how asylum procedure accelerated and deportations simplified.
Also read: Refugees – now shreds are flying in the traffic light coalition
The pressure is immense: last year Germany took in 1.2 million people seeking protection. The vast majority of them came from Ukraine. But the number of refugees from third countries such as Syria or Afghanistan is also increasing significantly again. In the first three months of the current year, the authorities registered around 81,000 initial applications for asylum. This corresponded to an increase of 80 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
A number of municipalities are overwhelmed with the influx. Together with the states, they are demanding more money from the federal government, which the federal government rejects. He argues that despite running a budget deficit, he is already helping out on a large scale. The countries that recorded a total budget surplus again are, according to the Basic Law for the financial situation of the municipality responsible. Much of what is required for the reception and integration of refugees is missing in the towns and communities. For example accommodation, apartments, counseling services, day-care centers or school places.
Who puts pressure on the chancellor at the refugee summit?
The federal states have closed the ranks and common paper drafted, with which they want to enter into talks on Wednesday. The federal government’s previous financial commitments “do not do justice to the increasing number of refugees,” it says. And further: “A financing model is required that is appropriate in terms of amount and adapts to changing refugee numbers (breathing system).” The chair of the Prime Minister’s Conference is currently held by Stephan Weil (SPD), from Lower Saxony, who is actually a loyal Scholzian.
In this controversy, Weil and the other social-democratic state heads of government seem to prefer the shirt to the skirt. Above all, they keep an eye on the crisis situation in the municipalities. According to their own statements, they all lack two billion euros every year for the accommodation of recognized refugees. There is also a rumbling in the traffic light coalition: Green leader Ricarda Lang left the government line at the weekend and demanded more money for the municipalities.
What does the SPD say?
The head of the SPD youth organization Jusos, Jessica Rosenthal, went on a confrontational course with the federal government and the chancellor on Tuesday. “Humanity and humanitarian obligation play no role in the current debate. Instead, the federal government is talking about detention camps at the EU’s external borders and faster deportations, which is unworthy of a social-democratic federal government,” Rosenthal told our editorial team. She added: “Overall, we condemn this isolationist debate, which can hardly be surpassed in terms of shabbiness.”
Rosenthal played on the plan of the social democratic interior minister Nancy Faeser to decide on asylum procedures directly at the EU’s external borders in the future. The Juso boss also sided with the municipalities and called on the federal government to provide cities and municipalities with more financial support. “Of course, the federal government also has a duty to meet the challenge alongside the municipalities.”
Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier, also a Social Democrat, told our editorial team: “The local districts and municipalities bear the main burden of caring for the refugees. Contrary to what the federal government claims, the municipalities are not swimming in money.” Maier added that the costs of housing and caring for people fleeing are enormous and have risen in particular since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine “I therefore also advocate a Return to the per capita flat rate that the federal government pays to the states and municipalities. That is a fair solution.”
Is there even a point on which the federal and state governments agree?
Beyond financial issues, there are a number of issues on which an understanding between the federal and state governments appears possible. In their respective drafts of the decision papers, both sides underline how important it is to approve asylum procedures including the files digitize. In this way, the authorities can bring about faster decisions. Interior Minister Faeser’s plan to process asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders is also being supported by the federal states.
Also interesting: Money for refugees: Faeser speaks plain language with municipalities
However, this would require an agreement between the EU member states, which does not yet exist. The federal and state governments want to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Also under discussion is declaring other countries to be safe countries of origin. The Greens in particular see this with skepticism. However, there could be movement in the case of Georgia and Moldova, both of which have prospects of joining the EU.
Is an understanding possible on the subject of money?
That is completely unclear. The positions of the federal and state governments were far apart here until recently. The federal government calculates that it spent a total of 15 billion euros on refugee aid last year. In the current year, it should therefore be 15.6 billion euros. There are direct payments to the federal states, in 2023 it should be 2.75 billion euros.
The federal government argues that it is also forgoing a significant part of the sales tax revenue in order to relieve the burden on states and municipalities. He also takes on social benefits and provides federal real estate for accommodation. Lower Saxony’s SPD Prime Minister Weil accused the federal government of working with figures “that are vulnerable in many ways”. A paper by the state finance ministers states: “A large part of the federal government’s services are limited and will cease to exist from 2024.”
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