Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - In the struggle of the municipalities for money to care for the Ukraine refugees, Justice and Migration Minister Marion Gentges (CDU) sees the federal government as primarily responsible. "The federal government distributes the benefits and leaves the municipalities financially in the rain," she criticized on Thursday in Stuttgart. Because even in Baden-Württemberg, due to the so-called change of legal sphere, the asylum seeker benefits authorities are no longer responsible for Ukrainian refugees, but the job centers, the municipalities are burdened with almost 30 percent of the costs for accommodation alone.
In concrete terms, the so-called change of legal sphere means that refugees are no longer financially supported by the social welfare office via the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, but receive basic state security from the job center. The federal and state governments had agreed on this at the beginning of April. This related in particular to costs for accommodation, meals, subsistence and in the event of illness.
Gentges complained that the federal states were also not supported by the federal government with the ongoing refugee costs. In the federal-state talks in April, Berlin promised a new agreement that should relieve the burden on the states. "So far, such a facility has neither been closed nor is it in sight," said Gentges. "While the municipalities are doing their best without planning security, the federal government is withdrawing from its responsibility," she criticized.
According to the agreement, the countries are to be supported with 500 million euros for costs already incurred, and a further 500 million euros will be made available for accommodation costs this year. The federal government wanted to contribute one billion euros to the costs of integrating the refugees for states and municipalities, for example in daycare centers and schools. At the beginning of November, a regulation for the year 2023 is to be agreed - based on the then current number of refugees.
