Errors in the budget
The federal government is funding sea rescuers until 2026
October 7, 2023, 1:36 p.m
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All the fuss about the financing of sea rescue in the Mediterranean: On Friday, Chancellor Scholz distanced himself from the support and declared that the federal government had not approved any money from 2024. Now a speaker is rowing back. The reason is said to be a technical oversight.
The federal government plans to continue to financially support the sea rescue of refugees in the Mediterranean in the coming years. “The Foreign Office is implementing the Bundestag’s mandate to promote civil sea rescue with projects on land and at sea,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Office. Reports to the contrary are incorrect.
“Due to a technical oversight, the corresponding budget resources were not initially explicitly estimated in the current draft of the 2024 budget,” explained the spokesman. It has been planned for several weeks to correct this error. It went on to say: “Promotion of sea rescue with commitment authorizations from the Bundestag is also planned for the years 2024 to 2026. We will implement these.”
It was only on Friday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz distanced himself from the public financing of sea rescue of refugees by aid organizations. At a press conference after the informal EU summit in Granada, he emphasized that the money had been approved by the Bundestag and not by the federal government. “I didn’t make the request,” he said. When asked what his personal opinion was on this, he added: “That is my opinion that I did not submit the application. And I think that is unmistakable.”
Scholz had previously met on the sidelines of the summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who complained about the financing in a letter to the Chancellor a few days ago. The aid also put a strain on negotiations about reforming the European asylum system. Rome sees it as interference in domestic Italian affairs that the federal government wants to support aid organizations that look after migrants not only in the Mediterranean but also on Italian soil.