Germany debates cutting social benefits for Ukrainian refugees

BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's top aide on Monday backed a proposal to reduce social benefits for Ukrainian refugees, supporting a contentious proposal from the government's coalition partner.

Thorsten Frei, the German leader's chief of staff and minister for special tasks, expressed support for a suggested policy change from Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Markus Soder to end state welfare payments for Ukrainian refugees.

“Soder is right when he says that we are providing benefits that no other country in the world does,” Frei told broadcasters RTL and ntv, referring to the “citizen's benefit” (Burgergeld) payments to Ukrainians, which are not typically available to refugees from other countries.

Frei also pointed out the concerning data about Ukrainian refugees' workforce participation in Germany, noting the significant disparity when compared to neighboring European countries. “It's far too little when only one in three employable Ukrainians is actually working,” he said.

On Sunday, CSU leader Markus Soder called for an end to citizen's benefit payments for all those who have come from Ukraine, adding that this should apply not only to future arrivals but to all Ukrainian refugees currently receiving benefits.

His proposal went beyond the coalition agreement reached in May between the Christian Democratic bloc (CDU and CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD). The current agreement sets April 1 of this year as a cutoff date, after which Ukrainian newcomers would receive only lower asylum seeker benefits rather than the more generous Burgergeld payments.

Germany has taken in more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022. Last year, German authorities spent €46.9 billion ($54.3 billion) on Burgergeld payments, with €6.3 billion ($7.3 billion) specifically allocated to Ukrainian refugees in the country, according to public broadcaster ARD.