Saxony slashes funding for nearly 80% of integration services

The CDU-SPD government in Saxony has reduced the funding available for integration services for international people from 6 million euros to 3 million euros in 2026. The Refugee Council in Saxony (Sächsischer Flüchtlingsrat e.V. or SFR) has called the move “dangerous for society”.

SFR announces integration course cuts in Saxony

According to a press release from the SFR, Saxony's CDU-SPD government will cut funding for integration projects in the state from 6 million euros to 3 million euros in 2026. As a result, only 21 of the 91 integration projects applying for funding have received the money they need to support migrants to Germany.

This includes - but isn’t limited to - funding for integration courses, which some internationals are obliged to attend when they arrive in the federal republic. At integration courses, students learn German and how to navigate everyday scenarios in Germany, such as visiting the doctor, finding a job or going shopping.

“With the rejection of the Saxony-wide counseling and support services offered by SFR e.V., there is a lack of guidance and information for refugees, professionals, and volunteers,” SFR leader Angela Müller said in the press release. “There are no alternative professional support services.”

Maike Limprecht of the Dresden Culture Office (Kulturbüro Dresden) said that integration projects promote stability, diversity, and participation in Saxony. Limprecht said further cuts were a danger to democracy and social cohesion, “which is why we should ask ourselves honestly in which direction Saxony wants to develop”.

AfD calls integration cuts in Saxony a “bull’s-eye”

AfD politicians in Saxony were jubilant about the decision, with the party’s parliamentary group leader, Jörg Urban, calling it a “bull’s-eye”. According to a report by Migazin, Urban made unsubstantiated claims that several integration associations, which he called “left-wing associations”, had broken the law and had to make “six-figure repayments” to the government.

Saxony’s state parliament has been governed by a CDU-SPD coalition since the last state election in September 2024. However, the AfD remains the second-largest party in the parliament, having won 30,6 percent of the vote in 2024, compared to the CDU’s 31,9 percent and SPD’s 7,3 percent.

The Brandmauer (firewall), a cross-party cordon sanitaire, prevents other parties from forming coalitions or cooperating with the AfD at state and federal level, though parties have cooperated at local level.