"The hospitals in Lower Saxony are up to their necks in water. If no action is taken, we will not need to initiate resuscitation measures," said the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter): "The need to save the hospitals is much greater than the 2.5 billion euros in energy aid promised by the federal government. We would like to thank the Lower Saxony Health Minister Phillipi for his initiative to disburse the 2.5 billion federal funds to the hospitals quickly and unbureaucratically; however, this is far from enough and will not prevent hospitals from dying. In order to really support hospitals in the long term, a boost of at least 750 million euros would be required in 2022 and 2023 for Lower Saxony alone."

"We are very irritated by the state government's statement that N-Bank guarantees for ailing hospitals are ineffective and would drive them even further into the red," said Vice President Jürgen Krogmann, Lord Mayor of the City of Oldenburg: "Local authorities are currently supporting their hospitals with extensive financial subsidies for their currently underfunded operating expenses. It is unacceptable that this task falls solely to the municipalities and that the state does not see itself as responsible."

"We are calling on the federal and state governments to provide loans and guarantees for hospitals via the KFW and N-Bank at very short notice in order to support them in the current situation. This burden must not fall solely on the financially hard-pressed municipalities. Of course, it would be better if these loans and guarantees were not necessary due to the adequate financing of hospitals! Unfortunately, however, the reality speaks a different language," explains Klingebiel.

"The disappointing results of the refugee summit show that the federal government does not want to acknowledge the difficult and tense situation of the municipalities," says the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony (NST), Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter): "Just because the high immigration pressure from Ukraine has eased and the people who have fled to us have a roof, a bed and food, the tasks have not been solved. Our central demand is that, in addition to further funding, the financing of accommodation, care and integration is regulated on a permanent basis. It is not acceptable that we have to crawl to Berlin every six months to explain the situation on the ground to the federal government. We are fed up with having to work together with the federal state to remind the federal government of its national responsibility. "

Now, according to NST Vice President and Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann (City of Oldenburg), the municipal umbrella organizations must once again wrestle with the state over the distribution of scarce funds. "This must finally come to an end. We need planning security, because we have to build daycare centers and schools and create living space. The drop in funding from Berlin is of little help here," continued Krogmann: "We don't have the staff on the ground for this."

"With this policy, the federal government is distancing itself from municipal reality. It is jeopardizing the foundations that are so important in times of crisis: the cohesion of society and social peace," concluded Klingebiel and Krogmann in their joint statement: "This summit will cost the people in our cities and municipalities dearly."

"The Federal Government's track record in supporting the federal states and local authorities in the reception, accommodation, including the provision of accommodation, integration and education of refugees and displaced persons is extremely poor: the costs of accommodating people who have fled to us and the costs of providing accommodation are not fully offset. There is a complete lack of federal funding for the integration and education of refugees and displaced persons. The so-called financial support reaches the municipalities in homeopathic doses and only irregularly - depending on the federal government's cash situation. The BImA real estate list does not help us at all. And finally, we have not made a single millimeter of progress with regard to the protection of the EU's external borders and thus against illegal migration as well as the management of migration within the EU," says the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter), summing up: "While Berlin is examining the situation and setting up further working groups, the main administrative officials are up to their necks in water. Valid results must finally be put on the table."

"The top priority is that the municipalities must receive substantial and continuous support," said the Vice President of the Lower Saxony Association of Cities and Towns, Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann (City of Oldenburg): "The Lower Saxony Association of Cities and Towns is calling for full and permanent funding of the municipal burdens of federal and state immigration policy as well as the reimbursement of municipal integration costs. The financial support must be dynamically adapted to the rising number of refugees and made permanent - the local situation must also be taken into account. The federal states must pass on the funds without us having to negotiate for another six months."

"We still need streamlined immigration procedures," demands Klingebiel: "The responsible immigration authorities urgently need to be relieved. Changes to residence law, comprehensive digitalization of immigration authorities, improved involvement of the federal states and municipal umbrella organizations in the federal government's legislative processes on residence law and ways to improve the staffing situation in municipal immigration authorities are high on the list of priorities."

According to NST Vice President Jürgen Krogmann (Lord Mayor of the City of Oldenburg), the influx of refugees has presented local authorities with a considerable challenge, particularly in terms of accommodation: "The federal and state governments must significantly expand their reception capacities and also maintain them on a permanent basis ("breathing system"). At the same time, the federal government must also build up its own accommodation capacities for initial reception in a coordinated concept between the levels in order to relieve the burden on the federal states and municipalities in the event of high numbers of arrivals and then distribute them fairly."

"On all these points, we are also relying on the support and strength of the Lower Saxony state government, which has also formulated high expectations," said Klingebiel: "Now the federal and state governments have to deliver. We are looking forward to Berlin on May 10, 2023."

"The municipalities have ensured the reception and accommodation of refugees, have made advance payments and now expect the federal government to bear the costs in full without any ifs and buts," said the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter), on behalf of the working group of municipal umbrella organizations ahead of the federal-state summit meeting on 10 May 2023 and warned: "The impression that the federal government is completely out of touch with municipal reality is becoming more and more entrenched. Without adequate financial and permanent compensation for the costs of reception and accommodation as well as for the costs of integration - such as housing, daycare and schools - and without appropriate planning security, the municipalities are at the edge of their capacity. The federal government must finally assume its national responsibility. The refugee summit must not fail, otherwise we will lose the trust of the population for good and put a considerable strain on social peace in the cities and municipalities."

"The federal government is responsible for asylum and immigration policy. It determines the legal framework for refugees and displaced persons. Only it can influence the effective management of further immigration within the framework of the European Union. And this is urgently needed. At the same time, the burden on local authorities must be substantially reduced. It is completely unacceptable that the federal government denies its responsibility and does not accept its responsibility for the costs of accommodation and social care. If the federal government maintains its refusal to do so, this would be an unacceptable affront to the municipalities. If the situation remains as it is, there is a risk of social upheaval. Nobody can want that," adds District Administrator Sven Ambrosy, President of the Lower Saxony Association of Districts.

"Refugee policy must finally be aligned with reality," says Dr. Marco Trips, President of the Lower Saxony Association of Towns and Municipalities: "It's no longer just about money. In the short and long term, we need a package of measures to better manage and fairly distribute refugee movements. The federal government must work towards European solutions such as harmonized social benefits and distribution mechanisms. The blanket statement 'humanity knows no borders' cannot be used to shape a sound immigration policy in Germany. Limiting the hitherto disorderly influx is urgently needed."

The Presidium of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony is urgently calling on the state government to provide adequate funding for daycare centers. "There is not only a lack of skilled staff in our daycare centers - the funding of daycare centers is also very worrying," says Mayor Frank Klingebiel, Salzgitter, President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony: "The introduction of free parental contributions and the associated compensation payments from the state do not compensate for the sharp increases in the cost of daycare. Many local authorities are no longer able to compensate for increases in wages for specialist staff and sharp rises in material costs by increasing their income."

"The least we can do is adjust the state's share of funding to the actual costs of child daycare. We are therefore calling for the entire federal funding from the Childcare Quality Act, including any refinanced state funding, to be passed on to the municipalities," demands Vice President Jürgen Krogmann, Lord Mayor of the City of Oldenburg.

"If childcare is important to us, everyone involved must put their money where their mouth is. Shifting the main financial burden onto the local authorities will not work in the long term," concluded Klingebiel.

The Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony is calling for a change of course in immigration policy. "After 2015 / 2016, the municipalities are once again at the limit of their reception capacities. Refugees and displaced persons must be distributed fairly in Europe," said the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter): "The EU's external borders must be effectively protected against illegal immigration."

According to the Vice President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann (City of Oldenburg), the federal funding provided to date is by no means sufficient; this was clearly demonstrated by the Executive Committee meeting: "We are therefore calling for complete and reliable funding of the municipal burdens of immigration policy from the federal and state governments. Together with the state, we want to increase the pressure on the federal government. We expect clear funding commitments from the federal government."

"The municipalities of Lower Saxony are the guarantors for the reception of those in need of protection," said Klingebiel and Krogmann: "However, immigration is currently placing the municipalities under unresolvable financial, organizational and integration pressure. We expect the state - alongside us - to lobby the federal government for a new immigration policy."

"In future, chief administrative officers should once again be elected for eight years," demands Frank Klingebiel (Mayor of Salzgitter), President of the Lower Saxony Association of Cities and Towns: "The current five-year term of office has not proven its worth. We expect the state government to amend the relevant municipal regulations in the short term."

"In a state comparison, we are at the bottom end together with NRW. Saarland, as the frontrunner, even demands a term of office of ten years," said the Vice President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann (City of Oldenburg): "Due to the planning and implementation period of various projects, five years is simply too short. The citizens rightly expect results from us, not election campaigns."

Dr. Kirsten Hendricks becomes the new Managing Director of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony. "The Presidium of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony elected Dr. Kirsten Hendricks today," said the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony, Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter): "With her, we are gaining a qualified employee from the Lower Saxony state administration who has already gained extensive experience."

"Following the move of former Managing Director Dirk-Ulrich Mende to the German Bundestag, it is very pleasing that we were able to fill this important position so quickly," said the Vice President of the Association of Cities of Lower Saxony, Jürgen Krogmann (City of Oldenburg): "Within the office, she will take over from the Managing Director Dr. Jan Arning and will be responsible for the areas of finance / economy / EU affairs."

About the person (short CV):

The doctor of law began her administrative career in 2015 after a few months in the SPD parliamentary group in the Lower Saxony state parliament as a personal assistant to the head of the state chancellery and moved to the NST as an assessor in 2017. In the same year, she then became head of the minister's office in the Ministry of Europe and Regions, where she became head of department in 2020, responsible for the Interreg programs and the model project Regional Supply Centers, among other things. Last year, she moved to the Ministry of Culture as Head of Division, where she is responsible for international affairs and legal matters in the department for inter-school matters, among other things.