Ukrainian refugees in Germany should have their access to welfare payments cut and should be processed through the asylum system instead, a number of leading German politicians are insisting, arguing that the current situation is becoming “difficult to communicate” to voters.
The calls have come ahead of a meeting of the interior ministers of the country’s 16 states and the federal interior minister, with some saying Germany is in effect too attractive for Ukrainian citizens because it pays them more than neighbouring countries.
About 1.1 million Ukrainians have found refuge in Germany since Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country in February 2022. They are entitled to a welfare payment, known as Bürgergeld, or citizen’s income, of €563 a month. Couples receive €506 per person and children are eligible for payments of between €357 and €471 a month, depending on their age. The German state also covers costs such as rent, heating and healthcare.
This year the German state will pay between €5.5bn and €6bn to finance Ukrainians, according to the finance ministry.
Thomas Strobl, the interior minister for Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, said before the meeting he hoped to drum up support for a change in policy.
“It is quite possible that the reason we have a particularly high number of Ukrainians in Germany, in contrast to other neighbours like France, for example, is that we have these high social welfare payments, which no one else in Europe has,” he said.
Critics have accused Strobl, a member of the conservative Christian Democrats, and others including politicians from the pro-business FDP of populism ahead of key elections in three eastern German states where the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland is expected to make strong gains, and after recent European parliamentary elections in which the AfD came second.
Refugees arriving in Germany from Ukraine have been entitled to citizen’s income, considered to be a payment that covers basic living costs, since June 2022 and have not had to apply for asylum, in accordance with an EU directive known as the mass influx rule under which, as displaced persons, Ukrainians are offered immediate protection and a clear legal status.
This allows them immediate access to the job market, unlike asylum applicants for whom the rules are more complicated, whose status takes much longer to clarify and who receive less money.
Critics such as Strobl and the interior ministers of Brandenburg and Bavaria, Michael Stübgen, and Joachim Herrmann, also members of the conservative alliance, claim the incentive for Ukrainians to find a job is low due to the level of the payments.
The government has so far rejected demands to reduce social welfare payments to Ukrainians and has said it has no plans to review the rules.
Herrmann has also led calls for males fit for military service to be sent back to Ukraine, arguing this would be in Germany’s interests as well as Kyiv’s.
Authorities have reported a higher rate of arrivals of young Ukrainian men to Germany, in particular since Kyiv reduced the age for deployment from 27 to 26.
“Why the German population should be supporting Ukrainians who are fit for military service is becoming increasingly difficult to communicate to people,” Herrmann said, referring also to the large amount of military aid Germany is sending to Ukraine.
Jobcentres are responsible for finding Ukrainians suitable positions in the job market under a so-called “Job Turbo” project, which offers simultaneous access to German learning and a workplace. The labour ministry says this is the most efficient way of helping Ukrainians to integrate.
According to the national employment agency, as of January this year just under 520,000 Ukrainians were registered as employable, about half of whom had been found full-time positions.
Ukrainians cite challenges in Germany around issues such as language and childcare. About 65% are single-parenting and many are also looking after elderly dependents.
According to UNHCR figures from February, just under 6 million Ukrainian war refugees were registered in Europe. Germany had the most, followed by Poland (just under 1 million), the Czech Republic (381,000) and the UK (253,000). Spain, Italy and the Netherlands each had fewer than 200,000 registered. Each country offers varying degrees of support, with Germany offering the highest level.
• This article was amended on 19 June 2024 to correct the annual cost to the German state of financing Ukrainians. It is between €5.5bn and €6bn, not millions as a previous version said.
