Council of States says no again: no money for asylum container villages

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“I have every confidence that the Council of States understands what needs to be done,” said SP federal councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) optimistically yesterday about the dispute about the 132.9 million extra credit for new asylum container villages. 3,000 asylum places will be made available for this purpose.

Their confidence was betrayed: the Council of States did not want to pronounce 133 million, nor agree to a halved loan of 66.5 million francs. With 23 votes in favor and 19 against, with two abstentions, he maintained his deletion, which had been requested by State Councilor Beni Würth (55, SG).

Würth: “You don’t have to invest an extra franc”

Würth had previously referred to an initiative in which the Bundesrat demanded capacity planning in several cascades. Container villages would only come into play as a last resort. According to Würth, if the Federal Council were to take this initiative seriously, it would be clear: “You don’t have to invest any extra Swiss francs. It doesn’t need these container villages!” The current concept is just wrong.

The St. Galler was convinced that there was sufficient capacity elsewhere. For example, there are plenty of civil defense systems that can be used. He also criticized the cantons: “The attitude of the cantons is disappointing.” Yes, their behavior is downright “bad”.

Herzog: “Very well thought out”

“There are reserves in the cantons that they could use one day,” countered SP councilor Eva Herzog (61, BS). The Federal Council’s proposal is very well thought-out and forward-looking.

FDP State Councilor Johanna Gapany (34, FR), spokeswoman for the responsible finance committee, was still dissatisfied that the Federal Council had not provided enough information. But to avoid negative effects on the cantons and municipalities, a compromise proposal was submitted.

The compromise was reportedly proposed by FDP State Councilor Olivier Français (67, VD). He admitted that he had voted against the loan in the first round. He referred to a letter from the cantons, according to which the situation was already tense.

The Bundesrat agrees to a compromise

FDP Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (59) again made it clear that an emergency plan must be drawn up for an increase in the number of asylum seekers. The Bundesrat is ready to support the compromise. According to Keller-Sutter, she accordingly agreed with Attorney General Baume-Schneider.

But she added: “If this halving isn’t enough, it’s quite possible that there will be another late report.” That’s the catch: if the systems aren’t up to par, more will have to be ordered.

But for the time being, there may be no facilities at all, according to the decision of the Council of States. The matter now goes back to the National Council.

Cantons stepped up the pressure

The pressure on the state councils, especially from the cantons, was enormous. Over the weekend, some government councilors had called their state councilors and tried to convince them of a yes. In an emergency, if the federal government has no asylum places, the cantons and municipalities ultimately have to pick up the scoop.

The special asylum personnel, in which the federal government, cantons and municipalities are represented, therefore reconfirmed on Monday that without these places it could become difficult to receive asylum seekers from the autumn. The special asylum team wants to prevent asylum seekers from being prematurely assigned to the cantons, which are already under great pressure, due to a lack of space at the federal level.

Source:Blick