MINSK, 17 December (BelTA) - The German city of Cologne wants to help refugees stranded on the Belarusian-Polish border. On 17 December the city council signed a petition announcing its readiness to accept refugees, Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger reports.
Thus, Mayor of Cologne Henriette Reker has been authorized to petition the Federal Ministry of the Interior to allow the city to take in the refugees from Belarus.
"The situation once again shows how important the pan-European migration policy is. As mayor of the city of Cologne, I want to ask the new federal government to okay the city's proposal to accept the refugees," the mayor said.
The overwhelming majority in the Cologne City Council supported the initiative to accept the refugees. This issue has been on the city's political agenda since November.
"The city of Cologne must do everything in its power to get people out of there," Jennifer Glashagen, a member of the city council, head of the Volt parliamentary faction, told the council meeting. The number of refugees the city is ready to accept has not yet been specified. Previously Cologne announced its readiness to accommodate 1,500 refugees.
