“It was probably a mistake”
Merz criticizes the right to citizen benefit for Ukrainian refugees
January 8, 2024, 11:18 p.m
War refugees from Ukraine are entitled to citizen’s allowance in the Federal Republic. CDU leader Merz criticizes the decision and refers to the statistics. According to the Christian Democrat, significantly more Ukrainian refugees are part of the labor market in Germany’s neighboring countries than here.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz is calling for a tougher approach so that more Ukrainian refugees work in Germany and the state is thereby relieved of the financial burden. While only 20 percent of Ukrainian refugees are in the labor market in the Federal Republic, the rate is 60 percent in the Netherlands and 90 percent in Poland, said Merz at the New Year’s reception of the Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK). It turns out that the current system has weaknesses and needs to be improved.
Merz was critical of the fact that Ukrainian refugees are entitled to citizen’s benefit and therefore receive more state benefits than asylum seekers. “It was probably a mistake that we decided two years ago – immediately after the start of the refugee crisis from Ukraine – between the federal and state governments that the Ukrainian refugees would also go into citizen’s benefit almost immediately and not initially receive asylum seeker benefits for a certain period of time .”
Merz cited this as an example of state transfer systems that cannot and should not be financially maintained. Instead, the state should send strong signals to people: “We want you to return to the job market as quickly as possible.”
Merz: Refugees from Ukraine are welcome
The Christian Democrat emphasized that the one million Ukrainian refugees were welcome in Germany. “They have every right to have us give them refuge, to give them a home here – at least temporarily, as long as they want and have to stay here.” At the same time, the Federal Republic has a right to know which of the refugees can be integrated into the labor market immediately, said Merz.
In September 2022, Merz sparked nationwide outrage with statements about Ukrainian refugees. “We are now experiencing social tourism by these refugees: to Germany, back to Ukraine, to Germany, back to Ukraine,” said the CDU politician on Bild TV at the time.
Merz later apologized. “If my choice of words is perceived as hurtful, then I sincerely apologize,” he later tweeted. “I regret the use of the word ‘social tourism’. It was an inaccurate description of a problem that has been observed in individual cases.” Merz wrote that his reference “was exclusively about the lack of registration of the refugees. I was and is far from criticizing the refugees from Ukraine, who are confronted with a harsh fate.”