Germany - May 2023

The federal government has agreed to the states’ demands for increased financial support in dealing with the growing number of refugees. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's administration will raise the lump sum provided to the 16 states by EUR 1 billion for 2023. However, the demand for a EUR 1,000 lump sum payment per refugee was not accepted by the federal government. The agreement also included the modernization of IT systems to accelerate asylum applications. Although the agreement shows some progress, a long-term funding agreement has not been reached, and a decision is expected to be taken in November.

Sources: Deutsche Welle, The Guardian

German police have conducted raids in seven states as part of an investigation into Last Generation climate activists suspected of supporting a criminal group due to their controversial activities, including traffic disruption, gluing themselves to roads or cars, and suspected sabotage of an oil pipeline. While arrests were not reported, raids involved police officers carrying guns, and resulted in frozen accounts and shutting down the group’s website. Last Generation’s campaign has sparked debate in Germany into whether the group should be legally defined as a criminal organisation.  

Sources: Spiegel (1), Spiegel (2), Spiegel (3), Politico