Germany will halve spending on refugees in 2024

Following Poland, Germany announced about the imminent reduction of support for Ukrainian refugees. The German government in 2024 intends to halve the aid allocated to the federal states to cover the costs of reception and integration of refugees. This decision was taken as part of budget tightening amid rising inflation “after several years of generous spending”. This is reported by Reuters, citing sources.

According to the agency, Berlin has informed the federal states that it will allocate a maximum of €1.7bn for refugees next year, more than half of what was spent for this purpose in 2023 (€3.75bn). This was discussed at a meeting between the German government and the state authorities yesterday, 25 September, an unnamed German Finance Ministry official clarified.

“In essence, the federal states are responsible for the accommodation and care of refugees,” the official said.

The German government will not allocate money for the integration of Ukrainian refugees either, the agency’s interlocutors added. It is not known how much was spent for these purposes this year.

More than 1 million people have asked for asylum in Germany after the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. Their support “has taken a toll on the country’s cities and municipalities”, and 16 federal states of Germany have demanded additional federal funds to cover refugee costs in 2024.

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