Erfurt/Weimar (dpa/th) - Thuringian counties and independent cities can now count on the payment of the promised 49.5 million euros for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees. The payment has already been triggered for nine municipalities, said a spokesman for the state administration office on Wednesday on request. This means that almost two months have passed since the relevant state parliament resolution of September 23 until the cash flow. There is feedback from three other municipalities - they can therefore also count on the money in a timely manner.
According to the information, around 18 of the 49.5 million euros were paid out in the current week. The amount of the funds depends on the number of Ukrainian refugees accommodated in a district or a district-free city. A spokesman said the payment of the funds is linked to the hope that the municipalities can continue to take in and accommodate Ukrainian refugees.
As of Tuesday, 29,884 Ukrainian refugees were registered in Thuringia. Most of them are accommodated in Erfurt - 3035 live there, according to an overview of the state administration office, which is available to the dpa. 2,139 Ukrainians are housed in the district of Gotha, in Gera 1,936 and in Jena, 1,839.
In its September session, the Thuringian state parliament cleared the way for additional payments to the districts and urban districts. The money comes from the federal government and is made available to the states by increasing their share of sales tax.
According to forecasts, Thuringia expects a total of 40,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Free State by the end of the year. Some municipalities had already signaled that they were reaching their capacity limits. According to the state administration office, four districts have already reported that they cannot take in any more refugees in the coming weeks: the district of Sömmerda, the Ilm district, the district of Greiz and the district of Sonneberg.
