Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel explains: "After long and intensive discussions that I and Member of Parliament Stefan Klein held together with Interior Minister Daniela Behrens, the Interior Minister and I reached an agreement yesterday to temporarily adapt the current procedure for the allocation and distribution of refugees to the situation in Salzgitter. I am very relieved that MdL Stefan Klein and I were able to convince the Minister of the Interior of the refugee situation, which is unique in Lower Saxony, and the associated major challenges in our city. I would like to thank our Minister of the Interior, Daniela Behrens, for the renewed temporary respite she has granted us from October 2023 for the reception, care and, above all, integration of the refugees living in Salzgitter. This breathing space is also absolutely necessary in order not to further jeopardize social peace in Salzgitter. By limiting the number of refugees allocated to Salzgitter to no more than 200 within the next year, and by generally stopping the allocation of refugees to children and young people, our educational institutions, daycare centers and schools, which are at their limits, will not be further challenged in their enormously high personal workload. This is an important signal to all professionals working in daycare centers and schools."

MP Stefan Klein adds:

"This agreement with the state shows that both our situation is seen at state level and that our own efforts are also being recognized. However, it is also clear that, in addition to this agreement, there is a need for further support in our city, for example in the area of education." Stefan Klein continues. "The commitment to primarily assign refugees who will secure their livelihood primarily through employment or who can be expected to do so when considering their previous school, training, income and family life situation benefits local companies and does not lead to further expenditure and is therefore also to be welcomed."

Specifically, the agreement reads:

1. no more than 200 allocations and thus distributions will be made to the city of Salzgitter within a year. The allocation and distribution of refugees beyond this will be suspended for the time being. The city of Salzgitter declares its willingness to accept no fewer than 200 refugees within a year.

2. this procedure begins with the determination of the total distribution quota at the beginning of October 2023 and ends on 30.09.2024

3. the determinations for the City of Salzgitter made by the Lower Saxony State Reception Authority remain unaffected by this. Any under-quota must be reduced from 01.10.2024 in coordination with the Lower Saxony State Reception Authority.

4. if it becomes apparent that a sub-quota will be built up, the City of Salzgitter and the Lower Saxony State Reception Authority will promptly agree on a binding plan to reduce this sub-quota, which will come into force at the end of 30.09.2024

5. the allocation of children and young people eligible for distribution remains limited to cases of entitlement

6. refugees traveling alone are to be assigned to the city of Salzgitter as a matter of priority and distributed to it if they secure their livelihood predominantly through employment or if it can be expected that they will secure their livelihood within the meaning of Section 2 (3) of the Residence Act, taking into account their previous school, training, income and family life situation.

Background:

In October 2017, on the urgent initiative of Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, the Lower Saxony state government - for the first time and unique in Germany at that time - issued a ban on the allocation of refugees and a ban on the relocation of recognized refugees (so-called negative residency requirement) in Salzgitter.

These measures were absolutely necessary in order to give the city of Salzgitter some breathing space in the reception and integration of refugees and to be able to cope with the enormous challenges - such as accommodation, education and integration - of the high number of recognized refugees who have already moved to Salzgitter and to keep the city society together. The systems in Salzgitter, particularly in terms of language support, childcare, nurseries and schools, had reached their limits at the time due to the rapid influx of recognized refugees.

Since then, with the help of the state of Lower Saxony (ongoing funding of around 5 million/year since 2017 from the integration fund of the state of Lower Saxony and one-off structural aid from the state of Lower Saxony in the amount of €50 million for Salzgitter), many necessary integration measures have been implemented in Salzgitter - especially in the expansion and operation of additional daycare centers and schools.

In the wake of Russia's inconceivable war of aggression against Ukraine, Salzgitter has provided protection, accommodation and care to around 1,200 displaced Ukrainians - mainly women with children - as part of emergency aid since the start of the war on 24 February 2022, despite a freeze on allocations and immigration for humanitarian reasons.

In August 2022, when the federal and state governments established a regulated distribution system for refugees and displaced persons, the allocation freeze for Salzgitter that had been in place since October 2017 was lifted by the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport. The request made by Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel to Boris Pistorius, then Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony, in October 2022 did not lead to any other decision, although Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel had urgently pointed out the special situation that still existed in Salzgitter. On 01.05.2023, Mayor Frank Klingebiel drew the attention of the new Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens to the continuing special situation in Salzgitter and therefore requested an exception to the refugee allocation according to the EASY system in several discussions, taking into account her great reception efforts from the refugee crisis 2015 to 2017 and the Ukraine war since 24.02.2022. On 19.09.2023, Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, with the active support of MP Stefan Klein, reached an agreement with Interior Minister Daniela Behrens on the above-mentioned temporary, situation-adjusted allocation and distribution of refugees.