German municipalities complain to the government about the lack of funds

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency quoting Tagus Spiegel newspaper, German cities and municipalities have to perform various tasks, but they are no longer financially able to do this and have taken their complaint to the government. When it comes to immigration, they hold the federal government and Europe responsible.

Regarding the German government’s decision to increase social benefits, the Association of Cities and Municipalities Germans have demanded better financial resources for municipalities from the federal and state governments. Uwe Brandl, the president of this association, and Andre Berger, its managing director, warned on Wednesday at the association’s annual press conference in Berlin: the financial situation of municipalities is uncertain.

The premise is that there has been a lack of local money for investment for years, and the consequences are becoming increasingly clear. It is stated in this statement: The infrastructure is crumbling, roads and public buildings are in great need of renovation, and schools and sports facilities are in poor condition.

Therefore, more money should be directed towards investment, the statement said. This would require a series of measures – such as halting promises of new services and readjusting Germany’s federal budget plans. In addition to maintaining the existing infrastructure, billions of dollars are needed for climate protection, climate adaptation and energy supply restructuring, which cannot be funded.

Of course, Brundel sees “no reason at all” to suspend the debt brake despite the flooding in parts of Germany. “I advise calmness and restraint,” he said. After all, “every five minutes you can find another difficult situation” that can justify suspending the debt brake.

According to him instead of priority Correct allocation of available funds is required. Brendel questioned social benefits in particular, saying cities and municipalities currently spend more than €70 billion a year on social services – which has doubled since 2005 and is expected to rise further. .

“Brundel” explained that in times of budget problems, these increased costs must be paid with previous investments. This process should not continue like this. Investments should be prioritized. For this, it is necessary to exploit the savings potential at all government levels and not promise any new performance. The government can only distribute what it has already collected through taxation.

Also in this statement to stop new and higher social benefits without mutual financing, has been requested. The German federal government often decides what services the municipalities should finance.

“This (increasing social benefits) boosts the municipalities’ ego,” Brundel emphasized. interrupts They also want to reduce bureaucracy in federal budget programs. There are currently more than 100 federal funding programs for municipalities. The Association of Cities and Municipalities announced that this financing forest must be cleared

German municipalities also feel that they have reached the limits of their capacity due to the large influx of refugees. Brendel and Berger also explained on Wednesday before the annual press conference that an unlimited number of asylum seekers cannot be accepted in Germany. We need a change in immigration policy at the European and national level. This influx should be ordered to be controlled and reduced. However, we must note that discontent is growing. Therefore, we must succeed in focusing our efforts on those who hope to stay in Germany and return asylum seekers without right of residence to their countries of origin or organize voluntary return.”

According to published information, Germany has accepted more than one million war refugees from Ukraine in the last two years. With more than 300,000 people arriving in Germany, the highest number of asylum seekers since 2016 was registered in the country last year.

Brundel said: In many other municipalities There are no accommodation options. The situation in many kindergartens and schools is extremely tense and the integration courses are overloaded. Recently, the verdict of the Federal Constitutional Court has created a budget crisis in this country and has put the German government in a difficult situation.

In the middle of November, the Federal Constitutional Court Germany declared the re-allocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget to the climate and transformation fund invalid. This money was approved as a corona loan, but then it was used to protect the climate and modernize the economy.

At the same time, the judges of this court decided that The government is not allowed to set aside emergency loans for later years. But the federal government did it in special funds – which has now created additional budget gaps and forced the government to austerity and austerity policies.

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