Local politician calls for "breathing space" in admitting Ukrainians

According to the Lower Saxony Association of Cities, some municipalities are now reaching their limits when it comes to taking in war refugees from the Ukraine. In an interview with the political journal Rundblick, Frank Klingebiel, President of the Lower Saxony Association of Cities, said he was opposed to stopping the influx. "But many cities and districts, which have been visited particularly frequently so far, need a breather when recording." Braunschweig, Osnabrück and Hanover are particularly affected. "This is also due to the fact that many refugees head for the big cities first," said Klingebiel.

The CDU politician emphasized that the required breathing space could only be given "if a scenario is drafted at EU level as to how appropriately and regionally distributed a response should be to a possibly growing stream of war refugees". Around 110,000 people who have fled the Ukraine are currently registered in Lower Saxony.

Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) said after the nationwide refugee summit on Thursday: "We assume that a large number of people will continue to come to Germany this year - from Ukraine, but above all from other countries." It is current in particular a strong influx from Turkey. A severe earthquake caused serious damage to many cities in the Turkish-Syrian border region.

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