Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – From the point of view of Baden-Württemberg’s Migration Minister Marion Gentges and the municipal state associations, the results of the refugee summit in Berlin remained too vague. At the summit on Thursday, the federal, state and local governments agreed on better coordination on the accommodation and care of refugees. “If you want to highlight something positive about this summit, it’s that we now largely agree on the description of the problem,” said Gentges. “Across all levels, it was found that the high number of refugees poses great difficulties for us, and that municipalities are increasingly reaching the limits of what they can afford.”
Among other things, a digital “dashboard” for migration should ensure “transparency” down to the district level in the future. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that there would be further talks by Easter about possible additional financial aid from the federal government to deal with this task. “Such working structures across the various levels are certainly not wrong, but they do not solve the urgent problems that we already have,” said Gentges.
According to the Ministry of Justice, around 28,000 asylum seekers staying in Baden-Württemberg were registered in 2022. There were also around 146,300 refugees from Ukraine and 3,400 humanitarian admissions.
CDU politician Gentges complained at the summit that there were also no concrete results on the core issue of accommodation announced by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The properties already mentioned by the federal government in autumn have largely proved to be unsuitable in Baden-Württemberg. “The federal government made no concessions on financing issues.”
The municipal state associations emphasized that the capacities were almost exhausted almost everywhere in the south-west. “Therefore, in our view, the results of today’s second top-level talks at the Federal Ministry of the Interior are not sufficient,” said a joint press release.
The associations demanded: “Better distribution in Europe, more consistency in both directions. On the one hand, integrate those who are entitled to stay into the labor market with more commitment. On the other hand, bring back those who are not entitled to stay.” It is also sobering that the federal government is not contributing to the daily growing costs beyond the funds promised last autumn.
