Chancellor meets with state premiers
Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with the state premiers of all German federal states. The federal and state governments signed a pact for research and innovation, agreed on financing the costs of refugees as of 2020 – and declared their intent to push ahead with climate action.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the state premiers in Berlin
Photo: Bundesregierung/Carsten Koall
"We have a clear work plan," said Chancellor Angela Merkel. There can be no question regarding climate targets, declared the Chancellor. Germany must meet its climate targets, including planning that will enable the country to be climate neutral by 2050.
Federal government will continue to reimburse costs
At their meeting, the federal and state governments also agreed on the financing of the costs of refugees as of 2020. The federal government will "continue to reimburse in full the costs of accommodation and heating for shared migration-related," said the Chancellor, and pointed out that federal government will also continue to provide 350 million euros towards the costs of unaccompanied minor refugees.
Digitalisation - another important point on the agenda
Hamburg’s First Mayor, Peter Tschentscher, placed the emphasis on digitalisation. Together, he said, the aim was "to offer everybody a comfortable way of providing identification" in order to offer online services in future at federal and state government level.
Pact for research and innovation
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the signing of what is being called the pact for research and innovation is a "big thing. Scientists from other countries too now know that they can rely on specific research and university conditions. The state premier from the Saarland, Tobias Hans, added that an arrangement has been agreed, "under which the federal and state government share responsibility when it comes to increasing support agreed under this university pact".
And the federal and state government have established a joint commission to tackle anti-Semitism and protect Jewish life.
The responsibilities of the conference of state premiers
The conference of state premiers brings together the heads of government of Germany’s 16 federal states, providing a forum where they can discuss their positions. The conferences deal with federal- and state-level issues and also with topical European and international matters. Twice a year the state premiers meet with the Chancellor following their deliberations.
Every 16 years a federal state, represented by the state premier, assumes the presidency of the conference of state premiers in line with a fixed sequence. Hamburg currently holds the presidency.