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Prime Minister's Conference in Berlin: Short meeting, no decisions

Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa

Municipalities and districts have expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the federal-state consultations on migration policy.

“The meeting once again brought no real progress in migration policy,” said the President of the German District Association, Reinhard Sager (CDU), to the editorial network Germany.

"That's difficult to understand." The district council does not see any noticeable intensification of efforts in the long-announced repatriation offensive.

“Hardly any agreements with possible host states, hardly any returns to Turkey, although we have low recognition rates here, no other safe countries of origin,” Sager listed.

The 16 Prime Ministers discussed migration and asylum policy with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Wednesday.

There were no new decisions.

However, the states demanded clarity from the federal government about a possible relocation of asylum procedures to countries outside the EU.

In a paper published after the meeting, they asked the traffic light government to present initial results at the next federal-state conference on June 20th.

According to the wishes of the states, it should soon be clear when the agreed payment card for asylum seekers will arrive.

In their paper, the heads of government of the federal states call on the federal government to ensure that the Bundestag quickly passes a corresponding draft.

Discussion about the “dimension of what is affordable”

Sager generally called for more speed.

“We need much more speed in the migration transition.” The districts expected clear signals “that the number of refugees is likely to fall.”

It is clear that “we cannot handle the current number of well over 300,000 people per year,” said Sager.

There needs to be a discussion about the “dimension of what is affordable”.

The German Association of Cities and Municipalities also considers the results of the meeting to be inadequate.

They would have wanted “further clear steps to sustainably relieve the burden on municipalities,” said managing director André Berghegger to the “Rheinische Post” (Thursday).

»The Chancellor is not wrong when he sees Germany on the right path.

What is important now is that the resolutions from November are now implemented consistently and quickly.

The last migration summit took place in November.

At the most recent meeting on Wednesday, the Chancellor and the incumbent chairmen of the Prime Minister's Conference, Hesse's Boris Rhein (CDU) and his Lower Saxony deputy Stephan Weil (SPD), drew a positive interim assessment of the implementation of the decisions made at the time.

Berghegger also believes that further efforts are necessary.

»In view of the continued very heavy burden on municipalities in terms of reception, accommodation and care, we expect further steps from the federal and state governments that will be effective quickly.

A decision to remain in the initial reception centers would have been part of it, as would a commitment to further flexibility in the possibilities for integration into the labor market," said Berghegger.

»It should be possible here for language and integration courses to take place parallel to starting work.

We must quickly take effective steps in migration policy to relieve the burden on municipalities.

This means controlling, ordering and limiting.«

There was also criticism of the meeting from the Union.

The deputy chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz, described it as a “bitter disappointment”.

The Chancellor was apparently not prepared to do more than simply take stock.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had previously made similar statements.

Rehlinger sees no reason for alarmism

Lindholz went on to say: "The resistance to further measures is a slap in the face to all those who no longer know how to accommodate, care for and educate asylum seekers on site in the municipalities." She demanded that the federal government have all the leeway to reduce it of asylum seeker benefits and declare other countries to be safe countries of origin.

In addition, voluntary admission programs and family reunification with those entitled to subsidiary protection must be stopped.

After the federal-state meeting, Saarland Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger warned against excessive demands in migration policy.

Last year, all states and the federal government decided on a large package for clarity and order in migration policy and are now working on its implementation, said the SPD politician on Wednesday in Berlin.

“I am very much in favor of making things simple instead of constantly making new demands that everyone knows cannot be implemented.” With regard to the reception and integration of refugees in the country, the Prime Minister said: “The current situation is exhausting and, above all, stressful for the municipalities, but no reason for alarmism.

muk/dpa