Ricarda Lang with the party leaders of the SPD and FDP, Lars Klingbeil and Christian Lindner. © IMAGO/Frederic Kern (archive photo)
Financial dispute over the migration issue: In the run-up to the refugee summit, the Greens are approaching the federal states – and thus positioning themselves against their own coalition.
Berlin – What began as a dispute between the federal and state governments could develop into a traffic light dispute. A few days before the refugee summit in the Chancellery, the Greens are taking the side of the federal states – and are thus on a confrontation course with the coalition.
Greens distance themselves from SPD and FDP: Lang calls for more money for states
The focus is on money. The federal states are calling for more financial support from Olaf Scholz and the federal government. So far, however, the chancellor has shown little willingness to talk, commenting almost exclusively on the subject through government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. On Monday (8 May), he referred to billions in payments already made by the federal government and insisted on an appropriate share of the states. The Greens see it a little differently, as party leader Ricarda Lang emphasized.
One of the "real problems" on the ground is "above all the lack of money," Lang said on Sunday evening in the ARD program "Report from Berlin". "Now it's a matter of protecting particularly burdened communities." There must be support for them, and it will "also be about financial participation by the federal government".
Lang told the Stuttgarter Zeitung and the Stuttgarter Nachrichten that the municipalities had "done an incredible job last year". She thinks it would be "wrong for the federal and state governments to point at each other and emphasize what they have already done," she added.
Lang contradicts traffic light partner: draft resolution rebuffs countries
Lang's stance on the financing of the costs contradicts a draft resolution of the traffic light government, which is reported by ARD and Der Spiegel. Accordingly, the federal government is not planning a significant increase in refugee aid for states and municipalities.
The financing of refugee aid has been disputed for a long time. In view of the increasing number of refugees and asylum seekers, many municipalities see themselves at the edge of their capabilities. On Wednesday (10 May), the federal and state governments will once again discuss the issue at a refugee summit.
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Dispute over migration costs: CDU desert calls for "at least 50:50"
Berlin, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, among others, demanded more money. NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst called on the federal government to cover at least half of the costs for accommodation and integration of refugees. "The 16 states have agreed across party lines that the federal government and the states should share the costs, i.e. at least 50:50," Wüst told the Rheinische Post.
Saarland's Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger (SPD) told the Funke media group: "All figures show that we are currently in an extraordinary special situation due to refugees from Ukraine. The federal government must also recognise this and ensure reliable, long-term financing."
The new Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner (CDU), demanded in Der Spiegel that the financial burden be shared fairly. Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) warned in the editorial network Germany that it would be a found food for the AfD, if the municipalities would have difficulty to cover the costs. (as/AFP)
