Berlin The President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, warned of the consequences for the migration and immigration policy of the Federal Government in view of the lack of aid commitments to the municipalities at the refugee summit.
“If the municipalities are not equipped much better very quickly, then the resistance of some in the population will increase and politically the AfD will again gain strong support,” Fratzscher told the Handelsblatt. “The result would be failed integration and an even greater increase in social polarization in our country.”
The summit of the federal, state and local authorities on Thursday in Berlin ended without an agreement on the controversial issues of finance and accommodation. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) announced after the meeting that there would initially be no additional funds from the federal government. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will negotiate with the Prime Minister in the spring about the financing.
However, it was agreed to set up four new working groups. Faeser announced that the first results should be available by Easter. The groups deal with the areas of accommodation and finances, relieving the authorities, better integration and limiting irregular migration.
Fratzscher warned that politicians must now “act urgently and provide the municipalities with more logistical support and better financial resources”. He primarily sees the countries as having an obligation. “The federal government has always shouldered the greatest burden,” said the DIW boss. “Now the countries have to give up their blocking attitude and participate more financially, especially since many are doing well financially and some even made surpluses last year.”
Concern about the increasing number of asylum seekers from Turkey, Syria or Afghanistan
With this remark, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had already dampened expectations from the federal states and municipalities of higher federal subsidies for refugee costs. “The federal states now have a much better revenue development than the federal government and are strong partners in the federal financial structure,” Lindner told the Handelsblatt.
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The municipalities cannot gain much from such statements. Reinhard Sager, President of the German District Association and himself a CDU District Administrator in Schleswig-Holstein, vented his anger at the press conference after the consultations with Faeser. On the financial issue, the group “didn’t make any progress, much to my disappointment,” he said.
There is a double challenge in relieving the burden on the municipalities: in addition to the Ukrainian war refugees, those seeking protection from other countries must be cared for. In many places, there is a lack of affordable housing, daycare places and teachers for German courses.
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Politicians are concerned about the increasing number of asylum seekers, for example from Turkey, Syria or Afghanistan – and the fact that Germany is the main destination of many asylum seekers in Europe. Last year, more people applied for asylum in this country than at any time since 2016. This emerges from the annual statistics of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) for 2022.
Hesse’s interior minister Peter Beuth (CDU) called on the federal government to limit illegal migration to Germany and the rest of Europe more. The mood in the country is already threatening to change, he warned.
The head of the federal police union, Heiko Teggatz, also fears a change in sentiment against refugees. He recalled the recent protests against the construction of a container village for up to 400 refugees in the village of Upahl in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Here the citizens were already taking to the streets.
Federal police union fears “unrest among the population”
“There will soon be unrest among the population elsewhere, too,” Teggatz told the Handelsblatt. “My colleagues will have a lot to do at the latest when sports halls and community centers have to be used to accommodate migrants and this affects club life in the communities.”
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The police union (GdP) sees it similarly, but warns of “alarmism”. “There are regions in Germany in which a bad political climate towards those seeking protection was built up and cultivated in the past,” said GdP Federal Vice Sven Hüber to the Handelsblatt. There have also been attacks on shelters, residents and policy makers. Here “a further heating up of the mood in parts of the population is to be expected”.
On the other hand, Hüber pointed out that the “mood in the country” is also a result of communication or non-communication. “As correct as it is to report on the undesirable developments of individuals in the context of migration, it is just as wrong not to inform about the peaceful and successful development of hundreds of thousands,” he said.
In the case of undesirable developments, the police unionist sees the federal states as having an obligation. They should step up their efforts to quickly deport multiple and intensive offenders among those seeking protection. “It is precisely because of such criminal incidents that resentment and rejection among the population against refugees and immigrants increases,” said Hüber.
Currently, a majority of Germans still classify the current refugee numbers as “manageable”. This emerges from the current ZDF political barometer. According to this, 57 percent of those surveyed agree with the statement that Germany “can handle” the number of refugees currently arriving in the country.
On the other hand, many are dissatisfied with the federal government’s support for the municipalities in accommodating the refugees. Two-thirds of those surveyed think the federal government is not doing enough. Only 22 percent consider the support sufficient.
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