Overview

• The Runder Tisch für Integration Köln reissued its Fairness agreement, which all major parties in Cologne signed except the AfD.
• Ombudspeople monitoring the pact called parts of the Cologne CDU’s statements on the planned shelter "missverständlich" yet affirmed open debate on design and location.
• The Cologne CDU circulated a flyer opposing the 500-person accommodation in the Agnesviertel, and party chair Serap Güler told RTL the site was inappropriate.
• Organizers said the AfD was not presented with the agreement because its program runs counter to the pact’s stated values.
• The initiative has been in place for 25 years and is framed as consistent with constitutional protections, even as online critics denounce it as a gag.