Shortly before the Interior Ministers’ Conference, its chairman, Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Stübgen, sets a topic for discussion: Should refugees from Ukraine continue to receive citizen’s allowance directly – especially if they are subject to military service in their home country?
Unlike refugees from other countries, Ukrainians in Germany receive citizen’s allowance instead of asylum seeker benefits. This decision is increasingly being questioned. Shortly before the next conference of federal and state interior ministers, its chairman, Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen, has also called for a rethink, especially in the case of Ukrainian refugees of military age.
“It doesn’t make sense to talk about supporting Ukraine as best as possible and, in the same breath, to support deserting Ukrainians,” the CDU politician told the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Stübgen described the payment of citizen’s allowance for Ukrainian refugees as generally wrong: “Regardless of this, the decision to immediately pay citizens’ allowance to refugees from Ukraine has proven to be a fundamental mistake. The employment rate of Ukrainians is vanishingly low, “because citizens’ allowance has become a brake on people taking up work.” He called on the federal government to consider changing course.
criticism of Unequal treatment
Previously, the German District Council had also called for an end to the rapid receipt of citizen’s allowance for new Ukrainian refugees. The immediate citizen’s allowance would result in unequal treatment compared to other groups of refugees. The Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act would also make it easier to accommodate people.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) announced that he would like to speak about the issue at the Interior Ministers’ Conference. It is taking place from Wednesday to Friday in Potsdam. He expressed himself in a similar way to Chairman Stübgen. “Several tens of thousands of men who are subject to conscription in Ukraine receive citizen’s allowance here in Germany,” Herrmann told the RND. “This will not be easy to explain to the German population for much longer.” This is all the more true as the reintroduction of conscription is being discussed in Germany itself.
According to the RND, around 256,000 male Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 60 have been living in Germany in the meantime. Most recently, the number was just under 210,000.
CSU-Secretary General calls for abolition
Meanwhile, general criticism of the citizen’s allowance continues unabated. CSU General Secretary Martin Huber told the news agency dpa: “The citizen’s allowance does not need any minor reforms, it must be abolished completely. Instead, the tried and tested social assistance should be reintroduced.”
The SPD is lying to itself with the “fairy tale of job placement through citizen’s income,” said Huber. Studies have shown that citizen’s income prevents people from taking up work. According to him, citizen’s income also contributed to the poor performance of the traffic light coalition in the European elections. “The traffic light coalition would not only be doing the economy and the working population a big favor by abolishing it, but also itself,” continued Huber.
Report on considerations in the SPD
The SPD appeared to be willing to compromise in some areas. On Saturday, the Bild newspaper reported on a plan by the SPD to cut the citizen’s allowance in cases of simultaneous illegal work. “It is only fair to impose stricter sanctions on illegal work and welfare fraud,” explained Dagmar Schmidt, deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group. In principle, Schmidt emphasized that the citizen’s allowance is “based on finding permanent work – it strengthens qualifications and further training.” This is also a response to the shortage of skilled workers.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai agreed to tougher sanctions. He told the Tagesspiegel newspaper: “Anyone who receives a citizen’s allowance and works illegally at the same time must be severely sanctioned.”
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner sees things similarly. “In view of practical experience, the expectations of the citizen’s allowance have not all been fulfilled,” the FDP politician told the Rheinische Post on Saturday. “That is why I am convinced that further work is needed.” Some people “seem to have misunderstood the citizen’s allowance as a form of unconditional basic income,” Lindner continued. However, that is not what was meant. He is grateful that the coalition partners SPD and the Greens are “willing to talk” about the issue.