The Lord Mayors of Dresden, Magdeburg and Erfurt as well as their counterparts from other state capitals have asked Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) for a meeting as soon as possible. The background to this is the financial difficulties faced by local authorities. The city leaders wrote in a joint letter with the head of the German Association of Cities that concrete and timely decisions are urgently needed to relieve the burden on cities.
Merz announced in December that the federal government, states and municipalities should work together to develop proposals. What has happened so far, however, is not suitable for solving the cities' major financial problems. The situation has not improved, but rather worsened. The mayors asked Merz to enter into an in-depth dialog with them now.
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