Weil calls for national consensus on migration
Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil is calling for a national consensus on the migration crisis. This would be an important sign of a shared sense of responsibility for citizens, said the SPD politician when asked by the German Press Agency in Hanover.
On Monday, the 16 heads of government of the federal states will discuss numerous topics with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) - including the financing of refugee accommodation. "The financing of basic care for refugees is a national task that must be borne jointly by the federal states and local authorities," Weil demanded.
If the federal government is not prepared to take on a significant share of its own, the municipalities run the risk of losing their ability to act in other areas too, said the head of government. "People's trust in politics is then at risk of being lost even further."
Lower Saxony's head of government once again called for the number of people coming to Germany to be reduced. "It won't help, we have to reduce the number of people coming to us every week. We want to continue to help those who really need asylum or protection under the Geneva Refugee Commission." In order to make this possible, those who come for other understandable but not so urgent reasons must unfortunately be sent home again, said the SPD politician. "The municipalities are at the limit, both financially and in terms of their accommodation capacities."
Meanwhile, Weil expressed confidence that the federal and state governments would agree on a pact to speed up the process. "An important topic that is in danger of being somewhat overlooked in the public eye. We need to speed up the expansion of renewable energies and the renovation of our infrastructure," emphasized the Minister President.
In the context of national consensus on migration, Federal Minister President Weil emphasized the need for a collective responsibility in managing domestic policy related to refugees, involving both federal states and municipalities. Later in the discussion, Weil stressed the necessity of reducing the number of migrants entering Germany each week, acknowledging the financial and accommodation strain on municipalities.
Source: www.dpa.com