Saxony's Minister of Social Affairs, Petra Köpping, believes that a positive attitude towards the reception of asylum seekers is necessary in order to solve the associated problems. The SPD politician admitted on Tuesday after the cabinet meeting that local authorities were still experiencing great difficulties in receiving and integrating refugees. However, she personally does not believe that this only has to do with capacity problems with accommodation, but also with the will on the ground, whether the population wants this or whether there is a negative attitude.
According to Köpping, eastern Germany has had to take in a large number of refugees in a comparatively short period of time. Today, there are cities here with a proportion of foreigners of ten percent, in some rural regions of seven percent. The West German states had more time back then to integrate the local population. "It is important to me that we have to take a positive approach to accepting asylum seekers - despite all the problems we have," said Köpping. This requires a "positive culture".
At its weekly meeting on Tuesday, the cabinet invited experts from academia and the authorities to discuss the topic of migration and integration. Köpping then reiterated her conviction that language and work are the most important integration tools. She appealed to employers to give those affected a chance. Köpping also referred to the fact that 60 percent of Ukrainians who have arrived in Saxony are registered as unemployed. People want to work, said the Minister. Work is the prerequisite for acceptance.
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