Renewed refugee debate in Germany as centre-right calls for limits

Local governments in Germany need more financial support to provide for growing numbers of asylum-seekers arriving in the country, the chairwoman of the Green Party has told dpa, amid renewed debate in German politics over migration.

"Some municipalities have reached the limits of their capacity. Providing them with better long-term support, including financial support, is the right way to go," Ricarda Lang said on Sunday.

Former health minister Jens Spahn, a leading figure in the opposition CDU/CSU conservative bloc, told the Bild newspaper on Sunday that Germany should impose strict new limits on the number of asylum-seekers it accepts.

Spahn's remarks provoked sharp reaction from members of the coalition government, which includes the Greens and centre-left Social Democrats as well as the free-market FDP.

Fellow CDU politician Thorsten Frei has proposed abolishing the right of individuals to claim asylum while on German soil.

Lang rejected Frei's proposal, noting that current asylum protections in international law were largely created after World War II in response to atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.

"The individual right to asylum is a lesson learned by our grandparents' generation from the darkest chapters of our history," Lang said. "We must - and we can - find solutions within the framework of these historical lessons that combine humanity and order: with fast procedures, good distribution within the EU and sufficient support for our communities."

The number of asylum applications has recently increased significantly. In the first half of the year, 162,271 people applied for asylum in Germany, about 64% of the figure for the entire year of 2022.

Those figures do not include the roughly 1 million Ukrainians who fled to Germany in the wake of Russia's full-scale military invasion in February 2022.

Lang praised the work of local government officials in responding to the influx of refugees: "They have very quickly taken in many people from Ukraine, made sure they have a roof over their heads and that the children can go to school."

In mid-May, the German government promised states €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in additional funding for refugees this year.

She said Germany can do more to quickly integrate refugees into society "with fast access to language and integration courses, the expansion of day-care and school places, faster recognition of vocational and educational qualifications."

However, asylum seekers must also be better distributed in Europe, Lang said, while better international aid efforts should improve conditions in foreign countries so fewer people feel the need to flee to Europe.