Germany Announces Plan to Fund 800,000 Refugees
The huge influx of refugees into Germany will be taken care of by the German government, which has announced on Monday that it will spend €6bn ($6.7 U.S.) to accommodate them, according to The Guardian.
The government has decided to split the funds, giving €3bn to state and local governments so that they can house the 800,000 refugees who will pour into the nation, while the other €3bn will help to support central government funds.
"We have a weekend behind us that was moving, at times breathtaking," said Angela Merkel, leader of the country's ruling coalition. She said that German efforts to support refugees have "painted a picture of Germany which can make us proud of our country."
"I am happy that Germany has become a country that many people outside of Germany now associate with hope," she said.
The announcement that the refugees can use the country for asylum "no matter where they enter Europe" has suspended standard laws, allowing for more refugees into the country.
With her vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, she also issued a warning to European Union partners who did not welcome a push from Berlin, Paris and Brussels to agree quotas for refugees pouring in from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"What isn't acceptable in my view is that some people are saying this has nothing to do with them," Merkel said. "This won't work in the long run. There will be consequences although we don't want that."
Gabriel said that if countries in eastern Europe and elsewhere continued to resist accepting their fair share of refugees, the bloc's open border regime, known as Schengen, would be at risk.
"This would be a dramatic political blow for Europe, but also a heavy economic blow, also for those countries that are saying they don't want to help now," he said.
Hungary's police forces had stacked refugees into holding camps and showed little concern for them.
"We had to give a strong signal of humanity to show that Europe's values are valid also in difficult times. Hungary's handling of the crisis is unbearable," said Yasmin Fahimi, Germany's secretary-general, according to hngn.
