The German federal government gave 9.3 billion euros (10.4 billion U.S. dollars) to German states to help deal with refugees, it was reported Wednesday.
This is the result of a report on federal support measures for states and their use of the funds, German newspaper Rheinische Post reported, adding the federal cabinet would approve the report Wednesday.
The German government spent 5.5 billion euros on refugees whose asylum applications were not yet recognized, and an additional 2 billion euros flat-rate payment for integration to the states.
The German state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) spent the most on refugees awaiting an asylum decision at 1.2 billion euros.
The number of refugees arriving in Germany continues to decline. Chancellery Minister Peter Altmaier, the refugee coordinator of the federal government, said Wednesday: "The landings from Turkey to Greece have been drastically declining for more than a year. At the moment, the dynamism of influx in the Libya-Italy route is more likely to see a decline rather than increase."
In the first quarter of 2017, more people had arrived via that route than a year ago. In May, however, the figures were "significantly lower, although the weather conditions were good. Our efforts to improve the situation in Libya, Mali and Niger seem to bear fruit", said Altmaier.
"Our goal is to keep people from drowning in the Mediterranean, and this can best be achieved if no one leaves in the first place," Altmaier said.
