A German foreign ministry spokesperson on Saturday denied reports by newspaper Bild that Berlin intends to discontinue planned four-year funding of German NGOs conducting migrant search and rescue in the Central Mediterranean next year.
The reported failure to include a two million euro allocation in the 2024 budget is “a technical oversight” that it has been planned to rectify “for weeks”, the spokesperson for Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green party told ANSA.
“The media reports are incorrect,” he continued.
On Friday evening the newspaper Bild reported that the German government had deliberately omitted the two million euro funding allocation for NGOs operating civilian rescue ships that rescue migrants and refugees and disembark them in Italy on grounds it is the nearest safe port from the 2024 budget following a row with Rome over the issue.
Baerbock spokesman denies stop to NGO funding in 2024 – English – ANSA.it