Scholz probably doesn’t want to finance rescue operations at sea after all. ‘Notorious and sneaky’: Minister denounces the AfD’s actions in the Chrupalla case

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has distanced himself from public funding of aid agencies’ sea rescue operations of refugees in the Mediterranean. At a press conference after Friday’s informal EU summit in Granada, he stressed that the money had been approved by parliament and not by the government.

“I didn’t submit the application,” he said. Asked what his personal view was on the matter, he added: “That is the view I have that I did not submit the application. And I think that is undeniable.”

Scholz had previously met on the sidelines of the summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had complained about the financing of sea rescues in a letter to the chancellor a few days ago. The aid also put pressure on negotiations on reforming the European asylum system. Rome considers it as interference in internal Italian affairs that the federal government wants to support aid organizations that care for migrants not only in the Mediterranean but also on Italian territory.

According to the German Foreign Ministry, three organizations have received commitments from the German federal government for sea rescue and care of migrants in Italy. A total of two million euros would be available for the current year. The first payments should go to a project run by the Christian community of Sant’Egidio to care for those rescued on land, and further funds should go to sea rescue organizations SOS Humanity and Sea-Eye. The amounts involved are between 300,000 and 800,000 euros. (sda/dpa)