German city closes its doors to Ukrainians – media

The mayor of the Bavarian town of Bad Griesbach, Germany, has refused to accept new Ukrainian refugees, arguing that the area has been disproportionately affected by the migrant exodus, local media reported on Friday.

Jurgen Fundke has clashed with authorities of Passau district, according to the Passauer Neue Presse, a local newspaper, saying that his resort town has been accepting too many newcomers and that he has instructed local officials to stop registering them.

The mayor stressed that he does not “want to give the impression that the town is xenophobic,” adding that locals are quite happy to help out the Ukrainians who have fled their homeland. “However, refugees must be distributed more fairly between towns and communities,” he said.

Fundke pointed out that all of the local schools and kindergartens are now full because of refugees, and that there’s no room to accommodate any more of them. The mayor said the tipping point came when nearly 40 asylum-seekers looked to be housed in a former hotel which was already sheltering some 100 Ukrainians.

District authorities were not thrilled with the mayor’s refusal. A spokesman for the administration, while acknowledging that it was “aware of the challenges associated with hosting refugees,” said that the city authorities were “obliged to provide adequate shelter to people seeking protection from war and violence.”

The district also threatened the mayor with “consequences” if he fails to comply, as quoted by Bild. Meanwhile, Markus Kleinmann, a city hall manager, noted that the district could also issue a decree ordering that the registration be carried out by someone else, with officials obligated by law to do so.

As of June 2024, Germany has received almost 1.2 million Ukrainian refugees, making the country their top destination in the EU, with Poland trailing behind with more than 950,000, according to Statista. Russia has welcomed more than 5.3 million Ukrainians, according to official data from early 2023.

Germany has also continued to receive additional migrants from other countries amid crises in the Middle East and Africa, with total refugee arrival numbers reaching 2.67 million and 1.93 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively.