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Shared accommodation for refugees in Berlin-Spandau
Photo: Frederic Kern / Future Image / IMAGO
Because rejected asylum seekers from the Republic of Moldova were no longer deported when the war in Ukraine began, the shortage of space in accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees has increased.
Berlin is particularly affected.
Between January and the end of June 2022, 1,853 Moldovans applied for asylum here.
Nationwide, 2841 applications for asylum from Moldovans were registered.
They almost never receive asylum or refugee protection in Germany, but their deportation was suspended in the spring, among other things because the airspace over Moldova was closed at the time.
The result: Asylum seekers from Moldova have been granted a toleration because of the restricted airspace over Moldova and the closed airport in Chisinau.
During this time they have to be housed and cared for.
Deportations possible again
The suspension of the deportation of Moldovan nationals "is part of the capacity complex," according to a spokesman for the Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF).
People from Moldova are currently by far the largest group of origin among the asylum seekers in Berlin.
According to the authorities, around 2,700 migrants from Moldova are currently accommodated in the Berlin accommodations.
The airspace over Moldova is now open again, deportations have been possible since the end of June, but have not yet been implemented in Berlin.
According to Berlin authorities, the government in Moldova has also signaled its willingness to take back nationals who are required to leave Germany.
The Berlin Senate has already discussed the question of whether and when people will be deported from Berlin to Moldova again.
In recent years, Moldovan nationals have always accounted for the largest share of the total number of deportations from the state of Berlin.
In addition to Berlin, Bavaria in particular is affected by the immigration from Moldova.
From January to the end of June, 511 Moldovans applied for asylum there.
In the months of March, April, May and June there were no deportations from Bavaria to Moldova either. According to the Interior Ministry there, there are no figures for July.
The capacities for the accommodation and care of refugees and asylum seekers are already tight in many places in Germany.
Several federal states, districts and municipalities are currently hardly accepting refugees from Ukraine and complain that they are overburdened.
They insist that they have already exceeded their quota calculated according to the so-called Königstein key, according to which people are distributed nationwide.
According to the Munich Ministry of the Interior, since the beginning of May only Ukrainians who have a “relevant connection” there, i.e. who can prove work, an apartment or close family, can stay in Bavaria.
As of July 31, 2022, the state had taken in almost 9,000 more people than would allocate to Bavaria according to the Königstein key.
According to the information, the administrative districts of Upper Bavaria and Middle Franconia as well as the larger cities have taken in a particularly large number of refugees from Ukraine.
According to its own information, the district of Munich has taken in 33 percent more people from the Ukraine than the quota requires.
The situation in Saxony is similar - according to the state directorate there, the situation in the cities of Dresden and Leipzig, as well as in the district of Görlitz, is particularly tense.
The forwarding to other federal states is "above all necessary to protect the public - especially municipal - infrastructure such as schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, authorities from overload and to distribute social burdens fairly," said a spokesman for the state directorate.
»Housing is only part of what is needed to take in and care for refugees.«
The Brandenburg Ministry of Social Affairs told SPIEGEL that "in the affected municipalities that have already exceeded their intake target," only refugees who already have family ties in the district or city are currently being admitted.
In Germany, Ukrainians receive flat-rate protection as war refugees and are entitled to social benefits.
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