Minister presidents demand concessions from the federal government on migration policy
Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) spoke on ZDF television, arguing that newly arrived Ukrainian war refugees should no longer receive a citizen's allowance. "I am in favor of a cut-off date regulation," said Kretschmer. The heads of the federal states are also calling on the federal government to introduce a uniform payment card for asylum seekers throughout Germany.
On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to meet with opposition leader Friedrich Merz and CSU state group leader Alexander Dobrindt. As Chairman of the Conference of Minister Presidents, Rhein emphasized on Deutschlandfunk radio that these consultations are independent of the negotiations between the federal and state governments on Monday.
The CDU politician called the proposal of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for an upper limit on the number of incoming refugees "possibly not feasible". However, it is clear that the influx must be limited, for example through controls at the German borders, as long as the EU's external border protection does not function adequately, the CDU state leaders demanded. They also spoke out in favour of cuts to social benefits or harmonization at EU level.
While the federal government referred to a whole range of reforms that had already been implemented, such as the return of rejected asylum seekers or making it easier to take up employment, the head of the Saxon government sharply criticized the coalition. "The traffic light must stop playing politics against the country. This state must be honest," said Kretschmer.
There are differences on the state side, for example, over the proposal by NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) to take asylum seekers to non-European transit countries for procedures. Rhein supported this idea, while Lower Saxony's Minister President Weil rejected it in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). Chancellor Scholz was also skeptical.
At the Federal-Länder meeting, Prime Ministers expressed their concern about migration and discussed concessions from the federal government on the migration policy. The heads argued for a uniform payment card for asylum seekers across Germany and cuts to social benefits or harmonization at EU level as potential solutions. Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer critically commented on the federal government's handling of the issue, calling for a more practical approach.
Source: www.ntv.de
