The refugee summit of the federal and state governments ends with a policy paper, the implementation of which has yet to be discussed. The most important key points at a glance.
Berlin - 101,981 asylum applications were filed in Germany between January and April 2023. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), this is an increase of 78 percent compared to the previous year.
Because the municipalities that take care of the accommodation and food of the refugees on site have been sounding the alarm for weeks, the federal and state governments came together this Wednesday (10 May) under the direction of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
The result of the refugee summit: a negotiating paper that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will take a close look at afterwards. © IMAGO/Jürgen Heinrich
Refugee summit of the federal and state governments: the result is a negotiating paper
The result is a negotiating paper for further federal-state conferences on 23 June and 23 November, which names measures but leaves the concrete implementation open in almost all points. An overview of all the important points announced by Federal Chancellor Scholz at a press conference:
- Special Representative of the Federal Government: According to Scholz, the traffic light cabinet of SPD, Greens and FDP has commissioned such a committee. The special envoy had "courageously set to work," the German head of government let it be known, but not who it was specifically.
- One billion euros in emergency aid for municipalities: This is how much money the districts in particular will receive in 2023 in additional support from Berlin, on top of what the federal government already pays. They take care of food, accommodation and integration of the refugees. According to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the federal government had contributed around 28 billion euros to migration policy last year. Scholz said in Berlin: "The federal government is mobilising another billion so that the municipalities can be better supported in their difficult task."
- Migration partnerships with other countries: "In the long term, the most important change will probably be for Germany to conclude migration partnerships," Scholz explained. Ergo: It is probably a matter of accelerating the influx of urgently needed skilled workers. However, these partnerships also include "agreements on the repatriation of their own citizens if they cannot stay here," the Federal Chancellor declared after the federal-state conference.
- Speed up asylum procedures and carry out deportations more quickly: One question should be clarified more quickly in the future: "Who is allowed to stay and who has to go?" To this end, for example, it should be better documented where asylum seekers are currently staying. This is aimed at the next point...
- Advancing the digitization of immigration authorities: For example, the Central Register of Foreigners is to be digitally recorded and processed in the future.
- Accelerating asylum procedures at the EU's external borders: Germany will intensify its efforts to "advance the protection of the EU's external borders," Scholz declared. So that the "border protection that takes place elsewhere" becomes more efficient. The Federal Chancellor reaffirmed: "We support these countries." This is likely to mean, for example, Italy and Greece, which monitor the EU's external borders at sea in the Mediterranean. Scholz left open what the aid should look like in concrete terms.
- Intensify veil searches at German borders: It is about an "intensification of veil searches, which we are carrying out at German borders anyway," said Scholz. In particular, it is likely to be about the borders in Saxony with Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as in Bavaria with the Czech Republic and Austria, through which many refugees have come to Germany in recent years. Whether there should be constant border controls, as demanded by the Union of CDU and CSU, remained open.
- Other federal-state conferences: On June 23, the federal government and the 16 heads of state want to meet again to discuss further. Another refugee summit is planned for 23 November. Until then, according to ZDF, a working group is to develop concrete proposals for the implementation of the measures described in the negotiating paper.
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