Germany intends to tighten conditions for paying social assistance to Ukrainian refugees
The German government plans to introduce stricter rules for receiving social assistance for the unemployed, including refugees from Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview with the ARD television channel on Sunday.
In an interview with the ARD television channel on Sunday, July 13, Merz confirmed that citizens who need support will continue to receive it. However, the German government intends to introduce stricter rules for applicants.
"People who can work should work," Merz said. In addition, it is possible to tighten the requirements for housing costs: for example, introducing an upper limit on rent or checking the living space.
According to the German Chancellor, there is significant potential for savings when, from 2026, citizens will be paid a basic income instead of benefits as part of the reform. "More than one or two billion can be saved," Merz said, adding that the "system change" should take place "step by step."
According to Merz, the goal of the basic income should be "to ensure that those who really need state assistance continue to receive it in the future." "I would even be prepared to increase the rates, for example, in the case of sudden unemployment, so that those affected can quickly find new jobs," he said.
In 2024, about 826,000 working citizens of Germany could not live on their salaries. The government paid them the Bürgergeld benefit in the amount of EUR 7 billion. Among the recipients of the Bürgergeld benefit in Germany are Ukrainian refugees from the war in Russia.
According to DW, as of 2024, some 1.25 million Ukrainians lived in Germany, 296,000 of whom were employed. Another approximately 211,000 Ukrainians in the country had the status of unemployed, and 98,000 attended integration courses.