Refugee summit: What have the federal and state governments decided? Follow the press conference live

The federal and state governments spent hours discussing the refugee situation in Germany. Now there are results. Follow the press conference live.

After hours of negotiations, the federal and state governments agreed on a number of decisions at the refugee summit in the Chancellery. These are the most important results according to the decision paper that is available on t-online:

• The Bund will die Refugee lump sum to the federal states for the year 2023 one billion euros increase. The aim is to support the federal states in relieving their municipalities of additional burdens and in financing the digitization of the immigration authorities.
• The federal and state governments are postponing theirs policy decision about permanently higher federal funds for refugee costs November 2023. A federal-state working group will prepare this decision. In mid-June 2023, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states will discuss the interim status at their regular meeting.
• The federal government wants it cooperation with numerous countries of origin improved in order to return persons who are obliged to leave the country to their countries of origin. To this end, with the help of the special representative, further migration agreement getting closed.
• external border stateswho are responsible for the control and registration of asylum seekers, should be carried out by a solidarity mechanism get supported. Germany also wants to continue to participate in supporting the particularly affected states with federal and state forces.
• The federal and state governments want them digitalization in the immigration authorities in the municipal area, in order to significantly improve performance.
• The federal and state governments hold in particular speedy registrations and a subsequent one fast feeding of asylum seekers to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) is necessary. The asylum application should be submitted within two weeks and a hearing at the Bamf within four weeks. The federal states guarantee a minimum stay of the asylum applicants in the initial reception center within these periods.

Before the meeting, the countries had called for a dynamic financing system that automatically adjusts to increasing numbers of asylum seekers. Such a system existed until 2021, when the federal government paid 670 euros per refugee. Participants now said that a working group would be created to deal with the question of such a “breathing system”.

According to Bamf, 101,981 initial applications for asylum were made in Germany in the first four months of the year. That was 78 percent more than in the same period last year. Many municipalities see themselves at the breaking point when it comes to accommodating and caring for the refugees.