>BERLIN—The tidal wave of refugees that crashed through Germany’s doors last year has long turned to a trickle, but the costs of the inflow will remain a burden on the country for years, budget figures released on Friday showed.
>The German finance ministry expects to spend €77.6 billion ($86.2 billion) over the next four years feeding, housing and training refugees as well as helping their home countries to stem the flow, according to updated budget estimates for the period from 2017 to 2020. Adding budgeted costs for the current year would bring the total to €93.6 billion between by 2020.
>Yearly cost estimates are set to remain broadly stable over the years even though arrivals have slowed considerably—a testament to the government’s low expectations about its ability to integrate the newcomers, most of them from the Middle-East and poorly trained, into its economy.
>For German taxpayers, the most expensive aspect of the crisis—coming at a cost of €24 billion between 2017 and 2020—will be to cover for the social benefits granted to migrants after they obtain asylum, This cost will nearly double from €4.2 billion in 2017 to €8.2 in 2020. This is because the government expects asylum seekers to continue coming to Germany—for instance via family reunification—and because those granted asylum are entitled to higher benefits than applicants.
>Government officials sought to put the figures in a positive light, saying that the country’s prudent fiscal course in recent years meant it now had ample reserves to tackle the immigration challenge. The data released on Friday showed Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble aimed to maintain a balanced budget in coming years despite the additional financial burden.
Over £64 billion on refugees. Wtf is going on, Germany?
