- Early on Tuesday morning, the German government reached an agreement with the federal states on financing migration.
- The federal government will contribute to the costs with a flat rate.
- In addition, border controls with Switzerland should be maintained.
Legend:
Olaf Scholz presented the agreement at a press conference early on Tuesday morning.
Keystone/Bernd von Jutrczenka
7,500 euros per asylum seeker per year; that is the agreement between the German Confederation and the federal states. The federal states have been calling for a greater financial contribution to the refugee costs for a long time, pointing out that they themselves have no influence on how many people come to Germany.
The number of asylum applications in Germany is currently increasing sharply. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, over 230,000 initial applications for asylum had been submitted by September of this year. In view of the increase, the federal government had already promised the states an additional billion euros in mid-May for 2023. However, the federal states have been pushing for a system with permanent payments that is based on the number of refugees for some time.
At the press conference, Chancellor Olaf Scholz then spoke of a historic moment because all levels of the state had shown the ability to act. Boris Rhein, the Prime Minister of Hesse, estimated the total volume of federal aid at 3.5 billion euros. Furthermore, the states and municipalities should be able to save around one billion in the future by changing the receipt of benefits for asylum seekers.
Border controls at the Swiss border will be maintained
During the Prime Minister’s Conference, the individual ministers disagreed about whether asylum procedures should be possible outside of Europe. As several news agencies report, the federal government should now examine this. The SPD, Greens and FDP had already agreed in the coalition agreement to examine whether asylum procedures were possible in exceptional cases in third countries outside the EU.
In addition, a resolution paper from the Prime Minister’s Conference states that border controls will be maintained. In addition to Switzerland, this also affects the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria. It goes on to say: “The affected German states and the federal police are working closely together to combat smuggling and irregular immigration.”