The German government is to hold an emergency meeting to consider “all the pressing issues arising” from the influx of refugees in the country, according to a spokesman for Chancellor Merkel.
Local authorities have been complaining that they have insufficient funds to house the refugees and several states have asked for more federal funding to help.
The federal government promised €1 billion in 2015 and 2016 in state funding, but the pledge was made before the numbers shot up.
A recent opinion poll indicated that 58% of people feel a climate of hostility exists towards foreigners in Germany. Tensions have been particularly high in areas where foreigners have traditionally been few.
There has been an increase in attacks against refugee shelters, including death threats to officials and arson attacks on centres.
The number of asylum seekers to Germany more than doubled in the first quarter to 85,394. For all of 2013 there were 100,000 refugees taken in.
The aggravated violence in Syria has pushed up the numbers.
The 16 states in Germany are obliged to take in a certain percentage of refugees based on the size of the local population.
With the unforeseen increase in refugees, many towns and cities have hurriedly converted empty buildings or gymnasia into shelters.
Both industry and the government argue that immigrants are needed in light of the country’s ageing population and its low birth rate. The percentage of children under the age of 15 is just 13%, the lowest of any EU country.
Comments
Almost none of the anti-McCann trolls had Luso-Hispanic names yet all were fluently reading Portuguese reports of 'nothing much happening'!!
Often times we also get Iberian lunatics making childish attempts to fudge the issue of the day with idiotic rants that just remind the world of the youthfulness of Portuguese political parties (and independent mature socio-political thought)
Bravo the Partido Socilalista ... 42 years old. A decade less than Amnesty International or just older than ... the first UK Race Relations Act. Not exactly old - plenty of Morris Minors still on the road from this time !
Thanks for that input, Darkie. I have not published your recent rants as they did little to inform or entertain and after a while the outpourings become somewhat tedious.
I have never been referred to as a 'left wing liberal' before, or indeed Joseph Geobels (sic) so thanks for that.
I do not have to publish any reader's comments at all if I don't want to but I think you will find that freedom of speech has been encouraged on this site for years.
There have been three posts that I have chosen not to publish over the years, all of them from Chekov or Darkie whom I have assumed are the same person.
The content either has been needlessly inflamatory or simply uninteresting.
In my new rulebook, 'insulting the editor' is an offence, so Darkie - 'you're fired.'
Ed
Many brave People in uk, and free eurooe gave their lives fir freedom from nazism, and left wing liberals like you are covering up the truth, and leading the people who read this site to there deaths, by nit allowing facts and truth to be heard.
You should be ashamed of yourselfs!
The time will soon come when tge muslims will take off your head!
What will be your last thoughts in those moments???
Shame in you liberal traitors! Who run this sham website.
At least one Finnish party campaigns to kick loser EU countries out of the Euro to stop them dragging down the others. Losers by their inability to carry out reforms.
Reforms that in Portugal, as in Greece, which have ground to a halt. Or never been begun. Or laws that, whilst they exist on the Portuguese statute book - have never been implemented.
Needing to be fought for individually in the famously inept and slow Portuguese judicial system. Then, all levels of Portuguese court exhausted (and if by chance your funds are not exhausted) - taken to the European Court of Human Rights.
To win your case but having to wait for your costs as Portugal is a bankrupt country.
It would be absurdly ironic for two stridently racist EU countries like Portugal and Greece, without their own racism laws, to suffer from being themselves judged as 'inferior races' !
AW is suggesting that there are for example, deliberate barriers put in the way of non Portuguese run business start ups by the Portuguese authorities (and that this practice should be outlawed)
This is probably true, but I don't think the Portuguese authorities are overly helpful to Portuguse run business establishments either.
Implementing EU wide race relations is one thing; getting individual EU countries to take any notice is quite another.
Sad, but true
If an EU country does not implement them and show they are acting on them .... no dosh from Brussels. Nothing.
Amongst which would be a Racism law. A Law that prohibit any kind of racial discrimination and where necessary - as in opening up the Portuguese SME tourism sector - applies positive discrimination.
France has only just started discussing an anti-racism law. Portugal is still years away from having one. Which others still have no idea of the concept?
The UK has had race relations legislation in force since 1965!