Referendum on the continued operation of Berlin-Tegel Airport
On September 24, 2017 , parallel to the general election, a referendum took place in Berlin on the continued operation of Berlin-Tegel Airport . According to the official result, 56.1 percent of the participants were in favor of continued operation, 41.7 percent against. Because the referendum did not contain a draft law, the result of the vote is not legally binding. In June 2018 the Berlin House of Representatives decided that "the decision made by the Senate in the referendum 'Berlin needs Tegel' cannot be implemented."
background
At the time of the division of Germany, there were separate airports for East Berlin and West Berlin . For the eastern part there was the Berlin-Schönefeld airport , and in the western part the two airports Tempelhof and Tegel . Soon after reunification , plans arose to merge Berlin airports into one large airport. The inner-city airports should be closed. After lengthy discussions and various reports on the possible future location, the representatives of the federal government (Federal Transport Minister Matthias Wissmann , CDU), the State of Brandenburg (Prime Minister Manfred Stolpe , SPD) and the State of Berlin (Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen , CDU) agreed in a "consensus resolution" on May 28, 1996 on the Schönefeld location as the future airport location. With the construction of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) was started in the year of 2006. The original plan was for the airport to open in November 2011, and after the plans, Tegel Airport should be closed no later than 6 months after BER went into operation. Berlin-Tempelhof Airport was closed on October 30, 2008. However, the date in 2011 for the reopening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport could not be kept due to various construction defects and was gradually postponed, initially to autumn 2012, later to August 2013, then spring 2014, and finally to “possibly 2018”. At the same time, the total costs of the construction project, which were originally estimated at one billion euros, rose to almost 6 billion euros.
Popular initiative and referendum to keep Berlin-Tegel Airport open
Popular initiative
The choice of Schönefeld as the location of the new Berlin-Brandenburg central airport was not without controversy from the start. In view of the numerous breakdowns in the construction of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, the cost increases and the unpredictable opening date, the skeptics received a crowd. In many cases, doubts were expressed as to whether the airport under construction even had the necessary capacities. On December 8, 2015, the Pro Tegel eV association, together with the FDP Berlin , launched a popular initiative to preserve Tegel Airport under the motto “Berlin needs Tegel” in order to force the House of Representatives and the Senate to deal with a corresponding bill. On April 18, 2016, the Berlin internal administration declared 23,526 of the 30,000 or so collected signatures to be valid, which means that the required quorum of 20,000 signatures was exceeded in 6 months. This meant that the Senate and the House of Representatives were obliged to deal with the legislative initiative within the next 4 months. As expected, however, this did not find a majority there.
Referendum
| district | number | in% of those entitled to vote |
|---|---|---|
| Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf | 39,785 | 18.3 |
| Reinickendorf | 29,765 | 16.4 |
| Steglitz-Zehlendorf | 34,657 | 15.9 |
| Tempelhof-Schöneberg | 24,854 | 10.6 |
| Spandau | 14,582 | 9.0 |
| center | 13,838 | 6.8 |
| Neukölln | 12,801 | 6.3 |
| Treptow-Koepenick | 10,961 | 5.4 |
| Pankow | 9,734 | 3.4 |
| Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg | 5,599 | 3.3 |
| Lichtenberg | 4.176 | 2.0 |
| Marzahn-Hellersdorf | 3,511 | 1.8 |
| Berlin as a whole | 204.263 | 8.2 |
In the House of Representatives election in Berlin on September 18, 2016 , two parties that supported the demand for Tegel to be kept open were elected to the House of Representatives: the FDP and the AfD. A draft law by the FDP parliamentary group on April 27, 2017 to keep Tegel open failed and was only supported by the AfD parliamentary group.
On November 30, 2016, the “Berlin needs Tegel” initiative launched a referendum with the aim of forcing a referendum on the Tegel issue. Within four months, i.e. by March 30, 2017, at least 7% of the signatures of all eligible voters, i.e. at least 174,251 of 2,489,291, had to be collected. In part, the initiative received verbal support from business. Representatives of the Irish airline Ryanair asked their passengers to vote for the referendum. The official results were announced on April 4, 2017. With 204,263 valid signatures collected, the required threshold was clearly exceeded. What was remarkable about the vote was that the majority of the signatures (more than 75 percent) came from the West Berlin districts. In the last days of the referendum, doubts about its validity arose. The Sixt company had promised a 10 euro voucher for signing. The head of the regional vote then filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin public prosecutor's office for allegedly prohibited voting. The "500 for 500" campaign , according to which people were allowed to take part in the raffle for a 500 euro voucher if they collected at least 500 signatures, was also viewed critically, but not under criminal law, since the performance of signatures against the acceptance of benefits is punishable. but not the collection of signatures. Based on the result, the Berlin State Returning Officer declared on April 4, 2017: "In view of the large number of valid signatures - around 30,000 more than necessary - the controversial advertising campaigns, such as that of the Sixt company, do not change the result: the referendum has come about."
Arguments for and against keeping Tegel Airport open
| Political party | Tegel continues to operate |
|---|---|
| SPD | No |
| CDU | Yes (keep open for the time being) |
| left | No |
| FDP | Yes |
| AfD | Yes |
| Green | No |
The arguments of the proponents of keeping Tegel open are essentially the following: the newly planned Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is too small, as 26 million passengers a year are already arriving in Berlin and increases of up to two million a year can be expected . Given the foreseeable growth in air traffic, the capacities of BER Airport will be exhausted in the near future. Many other metropolises (e.g. London, Paris) showed that several airports offer advantages. Berlin should therefore not only make itself dependent on a single airport, but should keep an alternate airport open. The traffic connection of the BER is also not secured and there is a threat of a traffic collapse in the east of Berlin. Tegel Airport also generates profits - 88 million euros in 2014. When competing with taxi companies from the state of Brandenburg, Berlin taxi companies at BER are at a disadvantage due to the higher trade tax and higher insurance premiums.
The arguments of those in favor of closing Tegel are: BER airport is designed for 26 million passengers. 23 million passengers were handled in Tegel in 2015 alone. In the 1970s, however, Tegel Airport was only built for an expected passenger volume of 6 million passengers annually, which means a current overload of almost 400 percent. Whether BER is really too small has to be seen first, also because the growth forecasts are uncertain and controversial. In addition, the old Schönefeld Airport should continue to operate and a new terminal at BER is planned. The transport connection of the BER is guaranteed by a tightly timed S-Bahn and bus connection, while public transport can only get to Tegel Airport by bus. Berlin does not need an alternate airport, as Leipzig , for example, is only a few minutes' flight from BER. Other metropolises in Europe also only have one airport (e.g. Rome, Madrid, Lisbon). The city of Munich also sees no need for a second airport next to the Munich hub (MUC) located outside the city . Tegel has long since ceased to meet today's safety standards. For example, the maneuvering area to the east is too short in the event of an emergency landing. Keeping Tegel open would result in ongoing health and environmental pollution (noise and exhaust gases) for the entire urban area of Berlin. A considerable investment backlog has built up in Tegel because the airport was expected to be closed for years. This investment backlog would have to be dealt with if Tegel remained open, which would turn Tegel from a “profit maker” into a “loss maker”. Investments in the amount of hundreds of millions of euros are required in the area around Tegel just through necessary noise protection measures. In addition, there would be around 1,000 million euros for a complete renovation and around 100 million euros annually for operating two airports in parallel.
Berlin urgently needs the space at the airfield in Tegel for cheap living space and for new jobs in modern companies. If Tegel is kept open, there is a risk that Berlin will be completely without a modern airport in the future, as the legal basis for BER will then be missing.
Schedule before the referendum
On April 25, 2017, the Berlin Senate set September 24, 2017 as the voting date for the referendum.
The following schedule was planned before the referendum:
- 11 August 2017: Publication of the wording of the referendum in the Berlin Official Gazette
- August 14, 2017: Start of sending the voting notification and the official information
- September 17, 2017: Final voting day announcement
- September 24, 2017: voting day
Attitude of the political parties
In a resolution on June 22, 2017, the Berlin House of Representatives voted with a majority in favor of closing Tegel Airport. The members of the government coalition made up of the SPD, the Left and the Greens voted for the closure, the members of the FDP and AfD voted against and the CDU members abstained because they wanted to wait for the results of a survey of their members. In a member survey on July 3, 2017, in which 35.8 percent of party members took part, 83 percent voted in favor of keeping Tegel open. This point of view was adopted by the party leadership. In doing so, the CDU took a contrary stance to that which it had represented during the government in the grand coalition in Berlin (until December 2016).
Wording of the referendum
"The Berlin-Tegel" Otto-Lilienthal "airport complements and relieves the planned Berlin Brandenburg airport" Willy Brandt "(BER). The Berlin Senate is requested to immediately abandon the intention to close and to initiate all measures that are necessary to ensure the unlimited continued operation of Tegel Airport as a commercial airport! "
According to the Berlin electoral law, the draft resolution is adopted by referendum if the majority of the participants and at the same time at least a quarter of those eligible to vote in the Berlin House of Representatives approve.
Voting result
The question of the referendum was supported by a majority in 9 of the 12 Berlin districts. Only in the three districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg , Pankow and Lichtenberg did the No supporters have a majority. The extraordinarily high voter turnout of 71.3%, which had always been well below 50% in previous referendums, was remarkable. This could be attributed to the federal election taking place on the same day.
| No. | district | Formerly | Participation (voting area) |
Yes (participant) |
Yes (voting area) |
No (participant) |
Invalid (participant) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OW |
 center
|
68.8% | 54.4% | 37.4% | 43.0% | 2.6% |
| 2 | OW |
 Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
|
72.6% | 44.5% | 32.3% | 52.3% | 3.2% |
| 3 | O |
 Pankow
|
75.4% | 42.7% | 32.3% | 55.1% | 2.1% |
| 4th | W. |
 Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
|
74.4% | 68.1% | 50.6% | 30.0% | 1.9% |
| 5 | W. |
 Spandau
|
70.1% | 56.9% | 39.9% | 41.7% | 1.5% |
| 6th | W. |
 Steglitz-Zehlendorf
|
75.8% | 66.2% | 50.2% | 31.9% | 1.9% |
| 7th | W. |
 Tempelhof-Schöneberg
|
72.0% | 62.3% | 44.9% | 35.9% | 1.8% |
| 8th | W. |
 Neukölln
|
65.7% | 58.1% | 38.2% | 38.9% | 3.0% |
| 9 | O |
 Treptow-Koepenick
|
72.8% | 57.4% | 41.8% | 39.0% | 3.6% |
| 10 | O |
 Marzahn-Hellersdorf
|
62.2% | 52.2% | 34.0% | 45.7% | 2.1% |
| 11 | O |
 Lichtenberg
|
68.1% | 47.6% | 32.4% | 50.3% | 2.1% |
| 12 | W. |
 Reinickendorf
|
71.8% | 63.7% | 45.7% | 35.1% | 1.2% |
 Berlin (overall)
|
71.3% | 56.1% | 40.0% | 41.7% | 2.2% |
- Formerly: W: formerly west, E: formerly east, EW: east / west fusion district
- Colors of the yes votes: number of yes votes reaches majority or quorum , number of yes votes does not reach majority or quorum
- Results by postal voting district (postal and ballot box voters)
Yes votes
Success of the referendum
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d "Tegel" referendum: General information. The regional returning officer for Berlin, accessed on June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Anke Myrrhe: Airport referendum: Tegel-Ja: Müller is ready to talk. In: tagesspiegel.de . September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017 .
- ^ Referendum in Berlin - Clear majority wants Tegel to continue operating. RBB online, September 25, 2017, accessed on September 25, 2017.
- ↑ https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/txl-debatte-im-abenkenhaus-der-flughafen-tegel-wird-parlamentarisch-beerdigt/22688460.html
- ↑ Joint recommendation of the Federal Minister of Transport, Matthias Wissmann, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen and the Prime Minister of the State of Brandenburg, Manfred Stolpe on the Berlin / Brandenburg airport concept - consensus resolution . May 28, 1996 ( online [PDF; accessed December 31, 2014]).
- ↑ Referendum for Tegel Airport reaches second stage. Der Tagesspiegel , April 18, 2016, accessed June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ FDP fails with draft law for Tegel to continue operating. RBB online, April 28, 2017, accessed June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Joachim Fahrun: Red-Red-Green and CDU against Tegel law of the FDP. Berliner Morgenpost, April 27, 2017, accessed on June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Ryanair drums for Tegel referendum. RBB online, January 25, 2017, accessed June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Press release: Referendum at Berlin-Tegel Airport (TXL). (PDF) Berlin State Returning Officer, April 4, 2017, accessed on June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Airport Tegel Berlin House of Representatives is in favor of closure. Berliner Zeitung, June 22, 2017, accessed on June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Sabine Beikler: CDU only wants to keep Tegel temporarily. Der Tagesspiegel, September 4, 2017, accessed on September 9, 2017 .
- ↑ Five good reasons for Tegel. Retrieved September 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Popular initiative “Berlin needs Tegel”. Retrieved September 2, 2017 .
- ^ Official information on the referendum on the continued operation of Berlin-Tegel Airport "Otto-Lilienthal" (TXL). (PDF) The Berlin Head of State Voting, accessed on September 9, 2017 .
- ↑ Minutes of the decision on June 22, 2017, p. 3
- ↑ Ulrich Zawatka-Gerlach: Tegel splits Berlin into the pros and cons. Der Tagesspiegel, June 16, 2017, accessed June 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Sabine Beikler: 83 percent of the CDU members vote for keeping it open. Der Tagesspiegel, July 3, 2017, accessed on September 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Preliminary result .
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