Berlin Senate poised to allocate nearly 5 billion euros over a three-year period towards refugee support!
Do the finances of the capital hold up? The Senate's spending on refugees has soared, with an outrageous 4.7 billion euros spent from 2022 to 2024.
In response to AfD's parliamentary inquiry on refugees, State Secretary for Social Affairs, Aziz Bozkurt (43, SPD), dropped a bombshell: "The state expenditure on refugee benefits for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees totals roughly 1.193, 1.468, and 2.086 million euros in the years 2022 to 2024." That's a staggering 4.747 billion euros!
You might wonder if these numbers are the whole story. Bozkurt's honest admission sheds light on the matter: "The total sum spent on the refugee sector can only be approximated, as many spending areas also benefit refugees indirectly."
German language courses for refugees: 3.2 million in 2024 alone!
The shock doesn't end there. As it turns out, Berlin isn't precisely aware of how much it pumps annually into refugee integration. "A detailed cost breakdown of all integration measures tailored for asylum seekers in Berlin isn't feasible," Bozkurt writes. "This scope encompasses a wide array of initiatives to support refugees, combat discrimination, and promote equal opportunities and participation."
Beyond language courses, this could include a multitude of guidance services, not all of which are cheap. "The state of Berlin allocated an astonishing 3.191.157 euros on state-funded German classes for refugees at Berlin's adult education centers in 2024," Bozkurt reveals.
AfD MP Hugh Bronson (64) is sketpical of the high costs: "These costs amount to an insane five percent of the entire Berlin budget!" According to the financial administration, this year's costs are 40.1 billion euros, and for 2024, they were 38.9 billion euros. "The costs have spiraled out of control," he claims.
With additional factors like humanitarian aid for displaced persons within Ukraine, the actual spending on refugee integration could be even higher. It's clear that estimating the total cost of such initiatives can be a challenge, but one thing's for sure—the financial impact is significant.
[Enrichment Data:]- The German government's humanitarian aid and support for the war in Ukraine comes at a hefty price, estimated to be several hundred million euros. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other departments have allocated funding for various packages totaling over €800 million for Ukraine-related aid. This includes humanitarian aid, support for displaced families within Ukraine, and targeted aid such as disaster relief, winter aid, and support measures for hospitals, medical equipment, and reconstruction efforts.- By April 2024, around 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine had been registered in Germany. However, the exact spending on overall refugee integration by the German government from 2022 to 2024 has yet to be fully consolidated, with documented packages exceeding €800 million for Ukraine-specific aid alone. Additional integration spending for all asylum seekers would increase the overall total, but detailed figures for this cost are not available in the sources.
- Acknowledging the escalating costs, AfD MP Hugh Bronson expressed skepticism over the high expenditure on refugee integration, stating, "These costs amount to an insane five percent of the entire Berlin budget!"
- In addition to specific refugee benefits and integration programs, the total spending on the refugee sector can be difficult to calculate due to indirect benefits, as adjudicated by State Secretary Aziz Bozkurt: "The total sum spent on the refugee sector can only be approximated, as many spending areas also benefit refugees indirectly."
