Berlin A debate has broken out in the traffic light coalition about the registration of all refugees from Ukraine in Germany. While Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) rejects regular registration, pointing out that Ukrainians are entering the country without a visa and therefore do not have to register with the authorities immediately, the FDP considers registration of all arrivals to be essential, especially with regard to the integration of refugees.
The deputy leader of the Liberals in the Bundestag, Konstantin Kuhle, told the Handelsblatt: “As good and right as it is to take in people from Ukraine without bureaucracy, we now have to take care of the speedy registration of the expellees.” labor market or going to school quickly is not possible.
Currently, many displaced persons are staying with relatives or friends. But the longer the war lasts, the more likely it is that private accommodation will come under pressure. “For this reason, too, rapid registration is required in order to be able to help the people affected more easily,” said the FDP politician.
The SPD politician Faeser emphasized, however, that children and women in particular were on the run for days and that they should not be stopped because of controls at German borders. People have the right to move freely here, the minister told the “Tagesspiegel”.
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Faeser also pointed out that people who come to an initial reception center or who apply for state aid are recorded. There are no indications of possible terrorists who could try to come to Europe with the Ukrainian refugees.
Bavaria’s interior minister warns of security gaps
The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), on the other hand, warned of a security gap when taking in Ukrainian refugees. He called on the other federal states, like Bavaria, to register incoming war refugees and to compare this data with wanted lists.
The SPD foreign politician Ralf Stegner rejected the initiative. “I expressly do not share the mistrust-driven registration demands at the border from the right,” Stegner told the Handelsblatt. “Now solidarity with the war refugees is required.”
>> Also read here: Interview with Berlin’s Senator for Social Affairs, Katja Kipping, on refugees from the Ukraine: “People want to work here”
Stegner praised Faeser’s actions, who rightly ensured “that the refugees from the cruel war against Ukraine were quickly admitted after their terrible experiences and were not held up by bureaucratic registration procedures”. Nevertheless, Stegner was open to better coordinating further assistance through subsequent registration.
Meanwhile, the flow of refugees from Ukraine to Germany continues unabated. As the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced on Twitter on Sunday, the Federal Police have registered the arrival of a total of 266,975 war refugees since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine a good month ago. Most of them are women, children and old people.
Statutory health insurance physicians are concerned about registration problems
The actual number of refugees is unknown because there are no comprehensive border controls – it is likely to be significantly higher. It is also not recorded how many people travel on from Germany to other countries.
Ukrainians also do not have to register with the German authorities because they can enter the country without a visa for 90 days. They are only recorded by the authorities when they report to them, for example to claim state aid.
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Another reason why not all people who have sought refuge in Germany have been registered is that in some cities there are sometimes considerable delays in the registration of those seeking protection due to a lack of capacity. The physicians see this with great concern.
“Registration problems mean that the supply of medicines in particular cannot be guaranteed at the moment,” wrote the board of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians last week in a letter to the head of the Chancellor’s office, Wolfgang Schmidt.
From Kuhle’s point of view, the current “wave of helpfulness” must also become a “concrete plan” for the accommodation of Ukrainian displaced persons. “One should not underestimate the extent and possible duration of the displacement caused by the Russian war of aggression,” he said. “That’s why it’s important for the authorities to keep track of the flow of refugees.”
More: This is how Germany is preparing for the Ukraine refugees