The President of the NST, Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel (Salzgitter), and the Vice President, Lord Mayor Ulrich Mädge (Hanseatic City of Lüneburg), emphasize: "Weil is expressing what many people are concerned about and what the municipalities of Lower Saxony have been demanding for a long time."

He continued: "It is essential to significantly reduce the number of people seeking refuge in 2016, as we are reaching the limits of our reception capacity. Otherwise, there is a risk of social peace and our society coming apart at the seams, which must be avoided at all costs. In the short term, this can only be achieved by setting quotas and securing the EU's external borders."

The NST continues to call on the German government to draw up a concrete plan for crisis management and for integration measures that are absolutely necessary in the long term.

Following the admission of the drastically increased number of refugees last autumn, their integration must now be placed at the center of political action without delay. For integration to be successful, it must begin in the refugee accommodation centers and encompass all stages of people's lives.

This is the greatest challenge for our society since reunification - and the Federal Government must not only tell people how it intends to tackle this Herculean task, but also how it intends to finance it.

In the opinion of the NST, it is clear and indispensable for a functioning society in the future that we will have to face enormous additional costs and that these will also have to be financed.

The full NST press release can be viewed below.