Germany plans to halve the federal aid allocated for states to cover the expenses of receiving and integrating refugees next year, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, as part of belt-tightening amid soaring inflation and economic slowdown, Reuters reported with reference to its own sources.

It is noted that after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, more than 1 million refugees arrived in Germany, whose support fell on cities and municipalities. Sixteen lands of the country require an increase in federal funds to cover the costs of refugees in 2024.

On Monday, Berlin informed the lands that no more than EUR1.7 billion will be allocated to support refugee spending in 2024, compared with EUR 3.75 billion this year. This was reported by two government sources that refused to give their names due to the confidentiality of the meeting.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance also said that the meeting of representatives of the federal government and the governments of the lands on these issues on Monday did not yield any results ahead of the consultations scheduled for November with the Chancellor.

"In fact, the lands are responsible for housing and caring for refugees. The Federal Government is aware of the national aspect," the press secretary added.

The government will cancel its contribution to the costs of caring for Ukrainian refugees and their integration, the sources added.