Germany plans to cancel state aid for unemployed Ukrainian refugees

The German federal government plans to introduce stricter rules for refugees to encourage recipients of welfare payments to go to work sooner. This was stated by the Secretary General of the largest opposition German party Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Carsten Linnemann in an interview with the Funke media group.

According to him, there are more than a million people in Germany who can but do not want to work. At the same time, they receive social assistance, which is enough for them to live on. He also spoke out against the reduction of this aid. The politician emphasised that it should be abolished altogether.

Basic income support should be completely abolished," Linnemann said.

He drew attention to Ukrainian refugees who receive benefits in Germany and noted that in many European countries more than 50 per cent of Ukrainians living there have already found jobs, while in Germany only 25 per cent of Ukrainians are employed.

We should discuss why in many European countries more than 50 per cent of Ukrainians are employed, but in Germany only 25 per cent," Linnemann suggested.

Among other measures, the German Federal Government is also considering cutting aid to refugees for refusing to work and illegal employment.

According to official data, among more than a million Ukrainians in Germany, there are more than 800,000 people of working age, of whom about a quarter work.