German federal government to pay $8,000 for each refugee

BERLIN

After lengthy discussions in Berlin, Germany’s federal government and states have reached an agreement on sharing the financial burden of the refugee crisis.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference Tuesday that the federal government will pay €7,500 ($8,000) annually for each refugee accommodated by the federal states, beginning from January 2024.

“Our common goal remains to reduce the irregular migration. We have also agreed on a number of concrete measures on this,” Chancellor Scholz told reporters.

“Our unity and joint action is essential because only by this we can achieve our goals on all levels together,” he added.

A joint statement released after the meeting pointed out that by reducing irregular migration, resources could be redirected to accommodate asylum seekers who really need protection in Germany.

Chancellor Scholz’s government and federal states had long been at odds over the refugee costs, and local authorities were complaining that they were facing a crisis in providing accommodation to newly arrived asylum seekers.

Around 230,000 migrants applied for asylum in Germany between January and October this year, marking an increase of 70% compared with the same period last year.

Currently, around 1 million Ukrainian refugees are living in the country. Since January, more than 70,000 Syrians and around 40,000 Afghans applied for asylum, according to official figures.