Union faction leader Friedrich Merz has called on the federal government to help the municipalities together with the Union to solve their migration problems. “We want to have solutions here so that the willingness to help is maintained in this country,” said the CDU chairman in Berlin at a municipal summit of the faction with a good 200 mayors and district administrators on asylum and refugee policy. Merz called on the federal government to hurry: “Time is now the most critical factor we have to talk about.”
The Union wants to approach the issue based on the matter and “wherever possible not in partisan disputes,” said Merz. The problem that is endangering the political center in Germany must be solved as coherently as possible from precisely this center. The municipalities are demanding a long-term strategy for taking in refugees from the federal and state governments. A federal-state summit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on refugee costs is planned for May 10th.
Mayors and district administrators are sounding the alarm
Mayors and district administrators reported partly inhumane accommodation situations for migrants, partly because many people stayed in Germany who actually had to leave the country. The district administrator of the Neckar-Odenwald district, Achim Brötel (CDU), for example, accused the federal government of ducking away. You feel alone. Initial accommodation facilities are overcrowded and the housing market is busy. The mayor of Suhl in Thuringia, André Knapp (CDU), accused the state government in Erfurt of not having recognized the current state of alarm.
Several speakers called for stronger initiatives to build housing for migrants. Some warned of a danger to the social cohesion of society.
Merz: Willingness to help has its limits
Germany took in more than a million war refugees from Ukraine in 2022, said Merz, who spoke of a great sign of helpfulness. In addition, there were 244,000 asylum applications, of which 220,000 were first-time applications. In January and February alone, almost 59,000 new asylum applications were made. Calculated over the year, well over 300,000 asylum applications must be expected. Such a large number would bring Germany “to the limits of what society is still willing to accept,” warned Merz. Many people said that more is not possible anymore. The CDU leader announced a new initiative in the Bundestag to make a contribution together with the federal government.
Dobrindt: Ignorant government
CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt accused the federal government of ignorant behavior towards the municipalities. Of 24 letters from municipal representatives to the Chancellery, only four were answered. Among other things, new return options would have to be created in cooperation with third countries. At EU level, it is about protecting the external borders. More skills and equipment are needed for the EU border protection agency Frontex.
The Bundestag-SPD rejected the Union accusations. “We have long been in talks with the municipalities about the current challenges,” said the local political spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Bernhard Daldrup. The federal government spends billions on accommodation, daycare places, integration courses and much more to relieve the municipalities. Now the countries are required to forward the money promptly.
The number of people seeking protection increases dramatically because of the Ukraine war
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of registered people seeking protection in Germany rose by 1.14 million in 2022 compared to the previous year. This highest increase within a reporting year since the statistics began in 2007 is due to refugees fleeing Ukraine: around 1.01 million Ukrainians sought protection in Germany last year.
Foreigners seeking protection are foreigners who, according to the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR), are in Germany on grounds of international law, humanitarian or political reasons. At the end of 2022, around 3.08 million people in Germany were registered as seeking protection.
