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"Calls of alarm from the municipalities ignored or not taken seriously"

The calls for help to the federal government because of the sharp increase in the number of refugees and migrants are getting louder.

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"Calls of alarm from the municipalities ignored or not taken seriously"

The calls for help to the federal government because of the sharp increase in the number of refugees and migrants are getting louder. After repeated appeals by the municipalities to the traffic light government to better support them with the accommodation and care of people, Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) has now warned on behalf of the capital as well as Hamburg and Bremen: "Especially we city states and especially Berlin as the main attraction” for Ukrainian refugees have “almost exhausted their capacities”. Giffey told the "Bild am Sonntag".

340,000 Ukrainians received first aid in Berlin; 100,000 reside there, according to Giffey. "We urgently need more federal real estate to accommodate people well." "Financial support for the immense costs and a fair distribution in the federal territory" are also necessary.

Giffey was referring to the demand of the city states to suspend the so-called Königstein key for the initial distribution of asylum seekers - which is based on tax revenue and population - and to accommodate more people in the 13 other federal states.

In Ukraine, there are fears that the flow of refugees to the EU will increase sharply if Russia deliberately destroys civil infrastructure in winter, such as electricity, heat and water supplies. In addition, the number of asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan, for example, is increasing noticeably in this country. How is the Bundestag reacting to the worsening situation?

SPD faction deputy leader Dirk Wiese told WELT that the situation would not overwhelm the country. The number of people seeking protection is not only increasing as a result of the Russian war of aggression. "Even the well-known escape routes, such as via the Western Balkans, are currently presenting us with enormous challenges." But: The Federal Republic is prepared "in contrast to 2015". “The proven mechanisms are working. Financing will also be clarified in a timely manner,” announced Wiese, referring to the concerns of the federal states and local authorities.

In addition, decisions to reduce migration have had an effect: "Corresponding initiatives at European level by Nancy Faeser (Federal Minister of the Interior, SPD, ed.), the increased border controls towards Slovakia and political pressure on Serbia have already led to a noticeable decline in migration activity on the Western Balkans route." Wiese also complains that "some federal states" such as North Rhine-Westphalia's black-green government of Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) "very quickly pointed the finger at Berlin", "without living up to their own responsibility". .

The coalition partner FDP is clearly less confident than the SPD. “Many people in Germany apply for asylum, especially from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. At the same time, more and more Ukrainian displaced persons are moving from private to state accommodation. That puts too much strain on the municipalities,” states FDP parliamentary group leader Konstantin Kuhle. There is a risk of a “structural overload of cities and communities”.

Kuhle demands: “The federal government should urgently speed up the asylum procedure. It can't be that it takes years before it's finally clear whether someone can stay in Germany or not. If it becomes clear more quickly that there is no right to stay, the people in question will have to leave Germany again.”

The Greens, the third traffic light partner, did not comment on WELT's request.

The opposition voiced sharp criticism at the traffic lights. The Union's domestic policy spokesman in the Bundestag, Alexander Throm (CDU), says WELT: "So far, the federal government has largely left the municipalities alone. Above all, the alarm calls from the municipalities have so far been ignored or not taken seriously. Otherwise the federal government would limit irregular migration via the Balkan route more and would not create further openings and incentives through generous residence rights," said Throm. He emphasizes: "We expect the federal government in particular to immediately end its special path in terms of migration policy in Europe."

Throm rejects Giffey's demand for a different distribution system: "Not only the city states, but also the large states are heavily burdened." All federal states would have to make "their appropriate contribution". "If the city-states want to take in fewer refugees, then the SPD mayors should approach their SPD interior minister to persuade them to reverse their open asylum policy," says Throm, referring to Federal Interior Minister Faeser.

The AfD faction considers "tinkering around at the top symptom level" to be inappropriate given the situation, as the faction's domestic spokesman, Gottfried Curio, says. "Therefore, neither individual financial injections nor a tweaking of the distribution to the federal states as part of a readjustment of the Königsteiner key will tackle the problem in the long term." he "the migration packages of the Minister of the Interior, which create new conditions for staying and provide further incentives", family reunification as well as resettlement and relocation programs.

The AfD politician accuses the government of “continuing to force the overload of their own free will”, “such as with the new Baerbock-Faeser permanent airlift to Afghanistan”. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Faeser recently agreed on an admissions program for particularly vulnerable people from Afghanistan. According to this, around 1,000 of them are to be brought to Germany every month.

The Left Group does not respond to a WELT request.

"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 or directly via RSS feed.

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