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A30 world news
Diaranson 12 october 2022

Germany struggles to find housing for more than 1M refugees

BERLIN (AP) — The Ger- six months and also intensify
man government pledged controls to the Czech Re-
Tuesday to provide more public.
support to cities and The move comes after Aus-
towns struggling to house tria and the Czech Republic
the more than 1.1 million introduced temporary bor-
refugees and migrants der controls to Slovakia last
who have arrived in the month to keep migrants from
country this year, mostly entering their countries.
from war-torn Ukraine
but also other countries Germany, Austria, the Czech
such as Syria and Afghani- Republic and Slovakia all be-
stan. long to the European Union's
visa-free Schengen zone,
After meeting with state and where residents of member
local officials, Interior Min- nations typically can cross
ister Nancy Faeser said while borders without presenting
the government already al- passports or visas. However,
located federal real estate for Schengen countries have ad-
tens of thousands of refugees opted temporary border con-
earlier this year, it would im- trols in the past for various
mediately provide additional reasons, including to curb
property for about 4,000 illegal migration and to pre-
refugees to ease the current vent the spread of the coro-
housing crisis. Faeser also tacked the eastern European to reach Germany via the lum in Germany. navirus.
promised financial support country on Feb. 24. About so-called Balkans migration
but did not give any concrete a third of them are children route. The figures for asylum ap- Germany also sharply criti-
figures. and teenagers, and more than As of the end of September, plications in 2022 are much cized Serbia — which is an
70 percent of the adults are 134,908 people had applied lower than the total number EU candidate country but
Several cities have recently women. for asylum in Germany in of refugees because Ukraini- not a member yet — for its
started putting up tents and 2022. That is around a third ans can enter Germany with- visa-free regime with some
turned convention centers While the interior minis- more than in the same period out a visa and do not need to non-EU countries. Citizens
into temporary accommoda- ter stressed that Germany last year, according to fig- apply for asylum. from India, for example, are
tion as regular migrant cen- was ready to welcome more ures from the Federal Office increasingly flying to Serbia,
ters have become overcrowd- Ukrainians despite the dif- for Migration and Refugees. In an effort to keep other mi- where they don't need vi-
ed. ficult housing situation, she However, it's still a far call grants from crossing into the sas unlike for EU countries,
struck a significantly differ- from 2015-16, when more country, the interior minister and then trying to cross into
More than 1 million people ent tone regarding asylum- than 1 million migrants from said Germany would extend wealthier western European
have entered Germany from seekers from other coun- countries like Syria, Iraq and and increase its border con- countries via the Balkans
Ukraine since Russia at- tries, especially those trying Afghanistan applied for asy- trols to Austria for another route.

Thunberg: Coal worse than keeping German nuclear plants on

BERLIN (AP) — Climate ment with her solo protests Thunberg responded: "If we plants to ensure energy sup-
activist Greta Thunberg outside the Swedish parlia- have them already running, I plies following Russia's deci-
says it would be "a mistake" ment in 2018, told German feel that it's a mistake to close sion to cut natural gas deliv-
for Germany to switch off public broadcaster ARD that them down in order to focus eries to Europe.
its nuclear power plants it was "a very bad idea to fo- on coal." Environmental activists warn
if that means the country cus on coal when this (nucle- Pressed by program host that Germany risks defaulting
must burn more planet- ar power) is already in place." Sandra Maischberger on on its climate goals by burn-
heating coal. But she acknowledged in the whether she thought the nu- ing more fossil fuels, while
interview, which will be aired clear plants should be closed conservative lawmakers say
The German government is Wednesday, that there was a down as soon as possible af- the government should use
still debating the future of strong debate over the issue ter the current energy crunch all available means to gener-
its nuclear plants, long set to in Germany. passes, Thunberg said "it de- ate energy given the tense
be shut down this year, given pends. We don't know what supply situation and high
the specter of a looming en- Asked whether it would be will happen after this." prices.
ergy crisis due to the war in better for the planet if Ger- The 19-year-old's comments Thunberg's nuclear com-
Ukraine. Thunberg, who in- many keeps its three remain- come as Germany's three- ments were welcomed by
spired a youth climate move- ing nuclear plants going, party governing coalition libertarians and right-wing of using clean hydrogen and
argues over the possibility German politicians who have that it's boosting wind and
of suspending the country's previously been dismissive solar power production.
nuclear phaseout. or sharply critical of her ac- Thunberg noted that politi-
Economy Minister Robert tivism. The teenager, who cians in some countries, such
Habeck, a member of the is currently finishing high as Sweden, are averse to sug-
anti-nuclear Green party, has school, said Germany's de- gesting that people should
said keeping the reactors run- cision to rely on coal plants save energy, even though this
ning would do little to tackle showed "what happens when could lower prices.
a gas shortage. you are too addicted to these "I know that in Germany
He recently suggested that kinds of fossil fuels." people are talking about sav-
two of the plants could ex- She slammed plans to invest ing energy," she said. "But
ceptionally operate until in new fossil fuel infrastruc- in Sweden it's completely
April but opposes running ture and said the focus should prohibited to talk about us-
them longer for safety rea- instead be on expanding re- ing less energy really, because
sons. Habeck has separately newable energy. The German then people say, 'Oh no, this
approved reactivating sev- government insists that new is communism and so on.' So
eral coal and oil-fired power gas plants must be capable it's completely insane."