Key Points

• Integration, particularly the integration of the refugees who have migrated to Germany in the last few years, is a task that primarily has to be dealt with by the municipalities.
• Municipalities are particularly involved in finding living space, promoting the regional economy and education and coordinating the commitments of citizens and the “intercultural openness” of the administration.
• Insufficient integration at the municipal level can contribute to long-term dependency of the refugees on social services, the majority of which has to be provided by the cities and municipalities themselves.
• Integration must be considered as a whole: language development, finding employment and social integration have to start in the reception camps and resources must be intelligently distributed.
• In order to activate civil society in a sustainable way, the potential of willing individuals must be addressed and coordinated, e.g. in the form of a survey of individual capacities using standard questionnaires.