Hendrik Wüst (CDU), Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, speaks at the press conference after the federal-state summit in the Federal Chancellery. © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
According to North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), the federal-state decision on refugee financing is not yet sufficient for the municipalities. The fact that the federal government has agreed to increase the refugee allowance to the states by one billion euros this year is helpful, Wüst said on Wednesday evening after the refugee summit in Berlin.
Berlin - For the municipalities, however, it is not sufficient, because it is only a one-time payment.
"More was just not possible," said Wüst. "You have to say that so clearly today." The states have not yet received an answer to the central question of a permanently higher participation of the federal government. For example, there had been no agreement on the full assumption of the costs of accommodation and heating for refugees by the federal government, as desired by the states and municipalities. The questions of higher cost sharing for integration and for underage refugees are also open. Nevertheless, the additional billion should be recognized by the federal government.
After all, there is now a roadmap on how to move forward on the way to permanently fair, reliable financing. According to the decision of the federal and state governments, a joint working group of the federal and state governments is to prepare further decisions. At their next regular meeting in June, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states want to discuss an interim status. A decision is to be made in November. This is not the result that the countries would have wished for, but they could live with it as a first intermediate step, said Wüst.
The consensus is that irregular migration must be noticeably reduced. To this end, repatriations would have to be improved. "We finally need a common, solidary, humanitarian, European refugee policy," said Wüst. The Federal Government wants to work for this and also take care of repatriation agreements. Dpa
