Erfurt (dpa/th) - Several mayors are demanding significantly more money from the state and concrete funding commitments for the accommodation of refugees. In Erfurt, for example, there are two vacant hotels that could be rented for this purpose, said the mayor of the Thuringian state capital, Andreas Bausewein (SPD), on Friday. However, he will only sign a corresponding contract if the Free State promises in writing that it will actually assume all the costs incurred by the city.
This attitude is not about preventing refugees from being admitted, said Bausewein. It is ethically and morally necessary to take in people whose hometowns are "bombed to the ground". However, the municipalities would also have to be put in a position to actually finance the accommodation.
The city leaders of Eisenach, Gera, Jena and Suhl made similar statements. They accused the state government of not having reacted to the concerns they had expressed for months - with dramatic consequences. "A problem threatens to slip away from us and that must not happen," said Jena's Mayor Thomas Nitzsche (FDP).
