by Lukács Fux, The European Conservative
Following Islamist attacks in the past years in Berlin, Magdeburg, and Solingen, new security requirements impose exorbitant expenses on organizers.
Several German towns have canceled their traditional Christmas markets this year, pointing to the mounting costs of new security requirements introduced after a series of terror attacks. Local organizers argue that they are unable to comply with the government’s anti-terror measures, such as installing barriers, setting up surveillance systems, and posting additional guards, all of which have become prerequisites for hosting public events.
In Overath, a town of 27,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia, the stalls will remain closed this year. The local festival association says it cannot afford the necessary counter-terrorism measures on its own, yet the local government refuses to contribute financially, according to Rheinische Post. For the past year and a half, the association has been in talks with the town’s administration regarding who will cover the costs of the necessary security measures, the newspaper quotes Andreas Koschmann, chairman of the Overath marketing association.
The situation is very similar in Kerpen—also located in North Rhine-Westphalia—where the traditional Christmas market has also been called off, as reported by the German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
René Hövel, chairman of the Kolpingstadt Kerpen Action Group (AGK) complained:
We were informed that we would have to cordon off the marketplace from all sides. At the same time, we’re not receiving any financial support from the city and must shoulder all the costs ourselves.
The organizers are now considering turning the Christmas market into a smaller “pleasure market” focused on food and local products, in order to comply with regulations and reduce costs. The move drew sharp criticism from the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), saying it represented an unnecessary erosion of Christian traditions.