Berlin In view of thousands of new war refugees arriving every day, the federal states are demanding support from the federal government to finance the accommodation and care of Ukrainians. It is “more urgent than ever to quickly achieve a viable successor regulation for the federal government to participate in spending in the area of refugee reception and integration,” said the chairman of the conference of interior ministers, Bavaria’s department head Joachim Herrmann (CSU), the Handelsblatt. “States and municipalities must be relieved here by the federal government in the long term.”
The federal government and the federal states are currently negotiating a working group on cost sharing. But the talks are difficult. A final agreement can only be expected at the meeting between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Prime Minister on April 7, according to negotiating circles. While the federal states have a long wish list of support measures, Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) do not want to meet every demand given the already tense budgetary situation. “The federal government will fulfill its responsibility,” it said in government circles. It is a “national task that has to be borne by all levels”.
Specifically, the states are demanding that the federal government pay a monthly flat rate per refugee again. This was initially introduced during the 2015 refugee crisis, but expired at the end of 2021. It was 670 euros. The federal states are now proposing an increase to 1,000 euros per month and person. In addition, the federal government should, as before, completely assume the costs of accommodation for refugees, retrospectively from January 1st.
The agreement should come soon
“A national effort is required to accommodate all refugees quickly and integrate them well,” said Baden-Württemberg’s Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz (Greens). Comprehensive participation by the federal government is required, and this requires a quick agreement between the federal and state governments on a comprehensive financing concept. Bayaz pointed out that Baden-Württemberg also reimburses the municipalities for the costs of privately accommodated refugees.
Thuringia’s Migration Minister Dirk Adams (Greens) warned against dumping the financial burdens resulting from the distribution of refugees according to the Königstein key to the municipalities alone. “It is clear that the federal government must permanently contribute significantly to the costs actually incurred,” said Adams.
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The deputy prime minister and refugee minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Joachim Stamp (FDP), emphasized that the municipalities would not be left in the lurch. The federal and state governments would have to bear the main burden together. “No municipality needs to worry financially about the war displaced persons,” he said.
The list of state demands on the federal government is even longer. In addition to the lump sum and the costs for accommodation, the federal government should finance additional funds for sick refugees and those in need of care. He should also provide buildings as accommodation again. Overall, the costs could well amount to a higher single-digit billion amount.
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The federal government reacts reservedly to the many requests. It is a matter of demands from the federal states, there is no agreement on this, it said in government circles. Housekeepers from the traffic light coalition are even clearer. “It can’t go on like this,” complains a member of the Bundestag. In the past, the states had already received more than enough funds from the federal government. “Where the countries still bear responsibility, they do not live up to their responsibility.”
From the point of view of the budget holders in the Bundestag, the burden-sharing of the corona pandemic must not be repeated: in the past two years, the federal government had supported the federal states with billions. Result: While the federal government incurred record debts last year, many states managed to balance their budgets again.
Linked to the financing is also the question of what benefits refugees should receive. FDP politician Stamp called for the current care of refugees under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act to be regulated differently in the foreseeable future. He assumes that in the first few months there will be support under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act and then there will be a change to basic security under Social Code II (SGB II). “It is a task for society as a whole to ensure the protection, accommodation and financing of war victims,” said Stamp.
There is a difference in the level of performance. According to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, single people or single parents receive 367 euros per month. The standard rates in the basic security for job seekers, colloquially Hartz IV, according to the SGB II are higher. Single people currently receive 449 euros. The states, districts and municipalities were originally responsible for benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. In view of the high number of refugees from 2015, however, the federal government has successively relieved the states, primarily through a higher share of VAT revenue.
The federal government has increased its grants
The standard requirement for basic security for jobseekers is financed by the federal government, while the municipalities are responsible for the costs of accommodation and heating. However, the federal government has steadily increased its contribution to these costs since the introduction of basic security, most recently in 2020 to up to 75 percent.
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Including the refugees from the Ukraine in SGB II would have the advantage that care could be provided “from a single source”. Currently, the social welfare office is usually responsible for paying benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, and the employment agency for job placement. According to SGB II, on the other hand, both the granting of benefits and the job placement would lie solely with the job center. Daniel Terzenbach, board member of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), therefore campaigned on Thursday for the refugees to be transferred to the responsibility of SGB II in the medium term.
According to official figures, around 290,000 people from Ukraine have arrived in Germany so far. In fact, the number is likely to be significantly higher. Ukrainian nationals can enter the country without a visa and stay for up to 90 days without having to register anywhere. Many are staying privately.
Bavaria’s Minister of the Interior Herrmann rejected a free choice of residence for the expellees. A nationwide distribution is “absolutely necessary for sensible planning by the federal states,” he said. “If the refugees need accommodation, they cannot be left to which country and which city they want to go to.” A country must be determined for each person to take them in.
The President of the District Council, Reinhard Sager, spoke out in favor of a residency obligation. Sager said that it was necessary to record the refugees as completely as possible in order to achieve a good distribution of the burden across Germany. “A residence obligation can also play a role here.” This was also applied in the past refugee crisis. According to this, refugees were not allowed to leave the district of the foreigners authority in which their reception facility was located, because otherwise benefits would be cancelled.
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