Germany’s Scholz agrees on tougher migration policy with state leaders

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who seeks to reduce the number of asylum seekers and stem support for the far-right, agreed on a tougher migration policy and new funding for refugees with the heads of Germany’s 16 states after hours of negotiations early Tuesday.
In recent weeks, Scholz’s government has agreed measures to make it easier to deport migrants and to make the country a less attractive destination in the first place, in stark contrast to Berlin’s perceived open-door policy under former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The meeting was aimed at garnering state leaders’ support for such moves and addressing local authorities’ complaints that public coffers and infrastructure are overburdened.
As a result, Scholz’s government agreed to pay the states and municipalities 7,500 euros ($8,033.25) per refugee from next year, as well as make an advance payment of 1.75 billion euros in the first half of 2024.
The leader of the central state of Hesse put the total volume of aid at 3.5 billion euros.