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Olaf Scholz (M, SPD), Boris Rhein (r, CDU) and Stephan Weil (l, SPD) after the federal-state summit last November - now they are coming together again.
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
In November, after a tough struggle, the federal and state governments agreed on a migration compromise.
But what about implementation?
The Prime Minister's Conference is discussing this.
The Chancellor is also coming.
Berlin - Under the pressure of persistently high numbers of asylum seekers, the heads of government of the federal states met in Berlin to discuss migration policy.
Union politicians in particular called for faster and more consistent implementation of the November decisions aimed at limiting irregular migration.
In the afternoon, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also wants to take part in the deliberations.
“The pressure remains incredibly high,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.
“This is global migration pressure and we cannot manage it here.” That is why the federal government must implement the federal and state agreements from November.
The CDU politician criticized that this had not yet happened in many cases.
“Another year like this on top, with even more people on top, will push us to the limits of what is still possible,” Wüst had warned the day before in the ARD program “Maischberger”.
Refugee numbers are hardly decreasing
In Germany, around 329,000 people made an initial application for asylum last year - around 50 percent more than in 2022. The more than one million refugees from Ukraine who came to Germany since the start of the war at the end of February 2022 are not included in this because they do not have any have to apply for asylum.
Many municipalities are now overwhelmed with accommodation.
In January of this year, almost 26,400 initial asylum applications were counted.
Extrapolated to the year as a whole, this would result in a similar number to 2023. However, this does not take into account the fact that more refugees usually come in spring, summer and autumn than in winter.
SPD-led states are also under time pressure
Saarland's Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger made it clear that the federal states are working together to speed up migration policy.
“We know that the burden is still very high - in the states, but especially in the municipalities,” said the SPD politician on Deutschlandfunk.
It is therefore wise to first consistently implement measures that have already been decided before drawing up a long catalog of new and additional measures.
The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (SPD), told the newspapers of the Funke media group that a lot had already been implemented.
“The number of refugees is falling, this is certainly also due to the winter effect, but it also shows that the measures are working.” Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) told the editorial network Germany (RND): “Above all, I expect the Prime Minister’s Conference to be unequivocal formulated that we limit immigration.”
Warning of “outbidding competition”
Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow warned in the "Rheinische Post" of a "competition to outdo the most blatant formulations" in asylum policy.
And according to a spokesman, Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) is fundamentally skeptical about continually putting forward new demands.
“The first thing now is to ensure that what has been decided is fully implemented and to see whether we need to make adjustments in some areas,” the spokesman told the RND.
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The German Association of Cities and Municipalities once again called for relief for municipalities.
“The municipalities are at their limits when it comes to accommodation, care and integration,” said managing director André Berghegger to the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
Several possible points of contention have been cleared up in advance
At the federal and state refugee summit in November, the prime ministers wrested a per capita flat rate from the federal government as an additional contribution to the asylum costs: 7,500 euros per year for everyone who applies for asylum in Germany for the first time.
“We have taken a really good path,” said the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference, Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU), to the German Press Agency.
In addition, measures to reduce irregular migration to Germany were agreed at that time.
Before the current meeting, some possible points of contention were cleared up: The traffic light coalition has just given in to the states' demands for a federal regulation on payment cards for asylum seekers.
The federal government also announced more staff for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to speed up asylum procedures.
Country heads also advise on economic policy
The country leaders also wanted to talk about economic policy issues at their meeting.
It should cover topics such as the Growth Opportunities Act, which is still blocked in the Federal Council, measures against high energy prices and the acceleration of planning and approval processes.
dpa